


Long Time Coming

by CrazedLunatic



Series: What Brings Us Closer Together [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-30
Updated: 2013-09-29
Packaged: 2017-11-06 07:49:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 170,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/416484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazedLunatic/pseuds/CrazedLunatic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Blaine gets accepted into Harvard, Kurt and Blaine find out exactly how hard it can be to maintain a relationship when they discover how much their dreams conflicts. Sequel to What Brings Us Closer Together. AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Glee or anything affiliated with it. Any characters you do not recognize from the show are mine.

"I don't know. I didn't think it would happen this early, you know? I've still got a year of school left. But he's about to graduate UK, he's going to go to a law school. Why wouldn't he be ready to settle down? We know we'll be together forever. What am I supposed to wear? What do you wear when you're about to be proposed to?"

"This is so exciting!" Rachel Berry squealed. "Finn should be proposing any day now. This is perfect. Do you think we should have a double wedding?"

"I think that's a terrible idea." Kurt Hummel, who had been looking through his closet while Skyping with Rachel and Mercedes Jones, poked his head out and stared at the screen. "No."

"Double wedding." Mercedes snorted. "Rachel, have you lost your mind? Kurt's been planning his wedding since he was, like, seven. I don't think you're in that picture."

"What? We could agree on colors. Personally I like orange and brown."

"We're not having a double wedding!" Kurt, who had left the immediate area once again, called from the closet. "I have nothing to wear. _Nothing_."

"It's Blaine. I doubt he cares what you're going to wear."

"But every time he takes me to Maggiano's, we always dress really nice and… Aha!" Kurt let out a triumphant noise as he pulled the desired shirt out of his closet and immediately grabbed the pants that he knew would go best with it—and he was a fashion-designer-in-training, so he knew exactly which ones those would be. He tossed them on his bed in his excitement, leaning down by his computer. "The next time you talk to me, ladies, I will be engaged."

"Your skinny white butt better call me the second you two are done getting it on, okay?" Mercedes said. "I want to hear all about it. Or Skype me, that way I can see the bling."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Mint green and pink, Kurt!" Rachel called just before Kurt shut his computer.

The last thing he heard was, "Hell to the no, Rachel. Hell to the no."

…

It wasn't going to be that bad.

No.

It couldn't, right?

After all, this was Kurt. Kurt _loved_ him. Kurt wanted him to be happy, right?

Blaine had turned the tables and gone to lengths he maybe shouldn't have to ensure that _both_ Kurt and Blaine went after their dreams. He'd applied to Harvard for early admissions without telling Kurt. In fact, the only people he _had_ told were David and Wes—and they had both been sworn to secrecy.

Then there was the thing about how he lied when he said he was going to Harvard with Wes to offer moral support. Well, it hadn't been a _complete_ lie. Well, maybe so. But Wes did have an interview mere hours after Blaine's interview. And they were definitely morally supporting each other through the whole process too. Blaine had never seen Wes so anxious in his entire _life_.

At that point, though, Blaine still wasn't even sure he would attend Harvard even if he got in. After all, the idea of moving hours away from Ohio was scary. Even if he'd lived multiple places in the state and sort of hated it, it had been his home since he was born. He had never lived anywhere else if you didn't count his barely three month stint in that apartment in Kentucky. And Blaine liked to not count it because he hadn't had to pay much anyway, so it had really sort of been like attending Dalton and rooming there. He was used to Ohio. The thought of leaving… of course it was scary. Did he really want to uproot and move his entire life? He wasn't sure. Not then, at least.

Truth be told, he hadn't realized how bad he _really_ wanted to go to Harvard until he walked out of that interview hoping—no, praying, that he hadn't messed it up. Of course he had wanted to get accepted before going into the interview, or else why would he have gone? As soon as he walked out of that interview, though, he _knew_ it. Blaine suddenly wanted to belong to the school more than he'd ever wanted anything in that moment. In fact, he'd been struck with the want so hard that he had sat down on the floor of the hallway for at least thirty minutes, watching students walk the hallway together chattering about mock trials and due dates. He wanted to be there. He wanted to be there bad.

How had he even considered anything _but_ Harvard, really, now that he thought about it? He belonged with Kurt, of that he was sure. But couldn't he belong in more than one place?

Kurt would understand. He _knew_ Kurt felt the same way about attending Parsons, and it became that much clearer that Kurt _had_ to go there and this… it was perfect. If it worked out, if Blaine got into Harvard Law… they would be thirteen hours away for one school year. Two measly semesters. Then they would be four hours apart, just like when he had been at UK and Kurt had still been in high school. It had to work out, it just _had_ to.

The worst part about the whole thing was the waiting to see if his new dream could become reality.

He waited.

And waited. And waited some more, praying that Kurt wasn't the one to get the mail because he didn't want that pitying look when it was a rejection letter. Nor did he want that surprised, "I didn't know you applied to Harvard" look either.

And then it had come, two days after Wes' acceptance letter.

But he didn't open it.

Instead, he stuffed it in the one place he knew without a doubt Kurt wouldn't look—his old soccer bag with his running shoes.

The letter had stayed there _four whole days_ before Blaine finally got the courage to open it. He made sure he had at least three hours to himself just in case he didn't get in, he sat himself in his usual seat on the couch he so often shared with Kurt, and then he did it. He carefully opened the envelope, slowly pulled out the paper, and unfolded the sheet with his chest pounding. At that point, he didn't even know if he was breathing.

And he'd been accepted. _Accepted_.

The words "I am delighted to inform you…" had never been so utterly and completely amazing. He had been accepted into early admissions for Harvard Law School. He would still apply to the other schools on his list. OSU, Toldeo, Capital University and University of Cincinnati were the ones in Ohio. His other options were University of Chicago, University of Virginia, University of Michigan, Cornell, and Vanderbilt. They spanned from twenty minutes from his current apartment to several hours. He had options open to him. Blaine, who had been afraid he wouldn't get into _any_ law school, had _options_.

He still applied to his long list of schools and the acceptances all rolled in, sometimes one at a time and one day he even got _four_ at once. They didn't change anything though. He'd had his interview. He knew where he wanted to go. He knew where he had to be.

Tonight he would finally tell Kurt what he'd done. Perhaps he wouldn't say, "I found out a way we can both get what we want, applied behind your back, I'll be leaving, and now you can go on your merry way to New York and we'll have sex every other weekend." He knew however he said it wouldn't matter. All Kurt would see was the fact that Blaine had gotten into Harvard Law—and that he'd secretly applied and had even gone as far as to _lie_ about it in regards to his interview. Still, though, he hoped Kurt would see past that after the initial shock and then be _proud_ of him.

Blaine had worked his ass off for three years to get caught up, to get exactly _here_ even if he hadn't known exactly where _here_ was until his interview.

Of course everyone else's reactions mattered too but Kurt… Kurt was the person he was going to send the rest of his life with. Kurt's opinion mattered the most. He wanted to make Kurt proud. He wanted Kurt to be proud to be with him. And hadn't it been Kurt who had said, over and over, that long distance could work? Also, weren't David and Mercedes (still together now, and well on the way to being engaged) living examples of how well long distance could work? Sure, Blaine hadn't had faith in it.

But he had faith in him and Kurt. Kurt was going to be proud and happy for him. Blaine would go to Harvard and Kurt would go to Parsons a year after; they would finish school and then begin their lives together. Everything was going to go perfectly. He and Kurt could do anything. Blaine just _knew_ it.

…

Was it really happening?

Kurt couldn't tell.

He was excited. Blaine was clearly nervous—and it was adorable. They were just as dressed up as they always were when they visited Maggiano's though, and Kurt had thought _maybe_ Blaine would be just a little more dressed up for their _proposal_ , but that was okay. He was more than used to Blaine's casual clothes by now—which seemed to become more casual as the years went on, partly to Kurt's disappointment.

"Kurt, I… have something to tell you." Blaine said after their food had been placed in front of them, taking a deep breath.

"Okay." Kurt said, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face. "What?"

"I got into all of the law schools I applied to." Blaine said slowly.

" _Oh my God_! Even Vanderbilt? _I am so proud of you_!" Kurt said.

"Capital, Cinci, OSU, Toledo, and Harvard." Blaine said, this time quickly. Almost too fast for Kurt to catch the last one.

"Wh—What?"

"I got into Harvard." Blaine breathed. "Kurt, I got into Harvard Law."

Kurt blinked several times with wide eyes. "But… Harvard is in… Harvard isn't in Ohio, Blaine."

Blaine felt his chest tighten. Kurt didn't look happy. He didn't look proud. He looked annoyed and hurt. _He's shocked,_ Blaine reminded himself. _You would be too._

"I know. It's in Boston. Vanderbilt isn't either." Blaine said calmly.

"I thought you applied to the others as safety schools if you didn't get into Capital." Kurt said slowly.

"Kurt…We discussed this. I told you that I was applying a lot of different places and that I wasn't sure where I wanted to go and I _did_ mention Harvard…" Blaine said, trying to not feel upset. Kurt was in shock. It was okay. This was to be expected. He was just shocked. It would pass.

Kurt's eyes widened and he suddenly hissed, " _You lied to me when you went with Wes_!"

"No, I didn't! I went with Wes!"

"You can't get into Harvard without having an interview!" Kurt exclaimed.

"But I mainly went for Wes. I didn't think I was going to get in!" Blaine said in a hushed whisper. It probably wasn't best to say that you _could_ get into Harvard without an interview but that an interview looked much better. Besides, this wasn't really even about the interview. They both knew that. "I applied, but I never knew I was going to get in or I would have told you."

" _You never told me_." Kurt stood.

"I did tell you it would be my top choice."

" _You didn't tell me you applied!_ There is a big difference in 'Oh, gee, I'd love to go to Harvard but I don't think I'll get in' and 'Kurt, I just applied to Harvard' or even 'Kurt, I applied to Harvard and got an interview.'"

"I told you two years ago." Blaine said. "It's not my fault that you didn't take me seriously."

"I can't believe you're pulling that card. That is _completely_ unfair." Kurt said. "Why did you keep sending applications in? When did you accept it? Did you accept it?"

"I have until May but I want—I'm going to accept it. I wanted you to know before I sent it in." Blaine said. "I kept sending applications in because I wasn't _sure_ but… Well, I… I don't know, Kurt."

"When did you send it in? The Harvard one?" Kurt asked slowly.

"October."

"And when did you get accepted?"

"Kurt…"

"When? How long have you known?" Kurt questioned, although the look on Blaine's face told him that his boyfriend had known a while.

"December 15th." Blaine said.

"It is _April_." Kurt stood. "You have known for four months that you were… I…"

"Kurt, please—don't—." Blaine began.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kurt asked, tears springing to his eyes. "We have an apartment, okay? We have a lease to live out! We have this _life_ together and you just went and—."

"Kind of like you and your Kent stunt?"

"You did not just say that." Kurt hissed, snatching his phone off of the table. "It's about the fact that you brought me here like this and then tell me that you're leaving me!"

" _Like this?_ Like _what?_ Kurt, I-I'm not—."

"I can't do this. Not right now." Kurt turned, rushing out of the busy restaurant. "We'll talk later."

Blaine sat, staring at his untouched plate of food, completely stunned.

* * *

Blaine braced himself when he heard the front door to his and Kurt's small apartment open the next day. He and Kurt hadn't spoken since the night before in the restaurant—they hadn't even slept in the same bed, mostly because Blaine couldn't muster up the courage to face Kurt who he was pretty sure had been crying at some point or another.

"Kreacher, stop… Kreacher… _Fine_ , but you better stay out there! And don't bring any dead animals this time, alright? Just because we live in Ohio doesn't mean you have to be a hunting dog. You're a freaking Coton de Taluer." He heard Kurt saying, sounding exasperated.

Blaine was sitting there, trying to determine whether he should say "hello" or crawl into a hole and hide when Kurt made it into the living room. "Hi." Blaine sputtered, voice sounding more nervous than he would have liked to admit. He was how old? Too old to be feeling this nervous.

"Hey." Kurt said, voice soft. He gently sat his bag down and then sat next to Blaine on the couch, biting his lip.

"Kurt—." Blaine began.

Kurt looked up, blue eyes intense. "I'm really proud of you."

Blaine took a deep breath, meeting blue eyes with his own hazel ones, and nodded.

"I am." Kurt repeated, reaching up and touching Blaine's face. "You—That's… It's… It's outstanding. You're… _You're_ outstanding."

"Kurt…" Blaine said, feeling his heart swell up.

"Listen… I wish we had… I wish you'd told me that you were going forward with this Harvard idea. I wish I'd been involved because I… I would have liked to have… been there for you. And I also wish I had been involved in knowing that you're… leaving me." Kurt trailed off, trying hard to say what he wanted to say in the best way possible. "I guess I should have taken your Harvard comment back then a little more seriously, but I still feel like you should have told me you were really going to apply. But that's not what's important. That is the fact that _you_ got into Harvard Law and I am _so_ proud of you."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was applying. I… I never thought I would even get an interview and after that I didn't think I would actually get accepted." Blaine sighed. "I just kept waiting for something to go wrong. By time the acceptance came it was almost Christmas and I didn't want to upset you before Christmas… and then it was January and February and by that point I should have already told you, so I got really nervous."

"You kept applying to all of those schools though. I don't understand why you didn't just tell me this was what you wanted. I would have understood… even if I'm upset now, I still understand…" Kurt let out a soft sigh and stroked Blaine's cheek. "I just want you to be happy. You've had such a hard life already and all I want is for you to do what makes you happy. I wouldn't have tried to stand in the way if you'd just told me it was what you really wanted… Is this what you really want?"

"I want it so badly." Blaine whispered. "I walked out of that interview and felt like I was supposed to be there. And it's only four hours from Parsons, Kurt. You can go there and we can see each other on weekends. We can drive and meet half way and see each other whenever we want."

"No. Forget about Parsons. Is this what _you_ want?" Kurt asked, staring into his eyes. Reading him.

"Yes." Blaine took a deep breath and nodded.

"Did you do this because I said that I was going to possibly postpone grad school?" Kurt asked, still not looking away.

"Initially that played a part in it. I wanted to do it so you wouldn't be tied to Ohio and so that you would go… You didn't let me go to the wrong college four years ago and I wanted to do the same for you… but, Kurt, it's where I'm meant to be. I can feel it. And I _know_ Parsons is where you should be. But this… Harvard… it's what I want. Now I feel like it's all that I've ever wanted. This is my chance to make a _huge_ difference in my life and I have got to go after it because nobody is ever going to be able to give me the opportunities that Harvard will."

"If this is what you want, then we're going to make it work." Kurt took a deep breath. "It will be hard. You're leaving. You'll be thirteen hours away."

"I'm leaving, but I'm not leaving _you_. And I'll only be that far away for a year. Soon you'll be at Parson's. You've already been guaranteed a spot. After a year, we'll be closer and… We can do this."

It was hard to be angry with Blaine because he could _see_ how happy he was even if he was hesitant and nervous. For once he seemed so _sure_ of something in his life that didn't revolve around his friendships with David and Wes or his relationship with Kurt. It was also easy to see how desperately Blaine wanted his approval.

Kurt reached his hand that wasn't stroking Blaine cheek and squeezed Blaine's hand. "We _will_ do this."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is AU, meaning it is an alternate universe. It is not meant to be exactly like the television show that we all know and love. Long Time Coming is loosely based off of canon but is not intended to be/follow canon.

Blaine stared down at his checklist anxiously, tapping his foot and chewing on his lower lip. He was leaving for Boston the next morning and soon everyone would be having a big going away dinner for Blaine—everyone being Blaine, Kurt, Burt, Carole, Finn, and little Melody.

Although the last several months had been spent excitedly planning adventures they would have over Blaine's school breaks and reassuring one another that everything would be okay, it didn't keep Kurt from getting sad as moving day got closer. For the past few days Kurt had been considerably quieter than normal although he had stayed by Blaine's side through switching over his individual bank account (they kept the shared one open for emergencies), through packing and repacking, through buying last minute things he and Wes came up needing, and through the few times that Blaine had freaked out while declaring he needed to withdraw and find a desk job.

Blaine was thankful, too, because even if Kurt had been quieter than normal, he was still _there_. He understood that Kurt was sad Blaine was leaving, but Kurt hadn't once left his side. Hadn't once tried to talk him out of it, guilt him. Kurt had been nothing but supportive despite how much he had to be hurting. Blaine didn't know if he would have handled it so well if the roles had been reversed.

Regardless of anything else, though, it had been nice to spend their last several days together with Kurt by his side at almost every moment. It didn't allow him much time to rethink or second guess himself. Kurt was deadest on Blaine going to Harvard and had been since the day after he found out. There was no way Kurt would let Blaine back out and Blaine was eternally thankful for that.

He felt a kiss on the top of his head and twisted around, smiling at Kurt who was still bent down. "Hey."

"Hi." Kurt smiled, sitting himself comfortably on Blaine's lap—hoping the desk chair would support their weight. "Is my Harvard Law boyfriend getting excited?"

"Yeah." Blaine took a deep breath. "But the nerves are starting to set in."

"Don't let them. You're going to be _great_. Better than great, in fact. It is going to be everything you've ever wanted and more." Kurt smiled again, blue eyes bright. "Even if it's taking you away from me."

"It's not taking me away." Blaine laughed, giving him a squeeze.

"I know, I know." Kurt nodded. "I was kidding. How do you feel?"

"Mostly just nervous." Blaine admitted. "I don't think it's sunk in yet. I thought it would after I graduated UK but… obviously it didn't."

Kurt ruffled Blaine's hair. "You know I'm going to miss you, right?"

Blaine gave Kurt a sad smile. "I'll miss you too… but we'll talk every single day. I can't wait to hear all about the senior fashion show. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Kurt smiled at him. "You don't have to come home for _that_. It won't be too terribly exciting. It's not a real runway."

"Blaine Anderson miss Kurt Hummel's first unofficial fashion show?" Blaine gasped, putting his hand to his chest. "Only a final could keep me away."

Kurt laughed. "Alright. I can handle that, I suppose…"

"Of course I'll want a sneak peak seeing as I'm your better half."

"Who says _you're_ the better half?" Kurt teased.

"The handbook." Blame grinned adorably.

"What handbook?" Kurt scoffed.

" _The_ handbook, Kurt. I can't believe you don't just know these things." Blaine shook his head in mock shame.

" _I_ can't believe that we've dated over four and a half years and you are still coming up with this stuff… I'm going to miss it."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll still be making up this crazy stuff for you." Blaine promised. "You're going to get countless texts of completely random stuff. And you'll roll your eyes every single time even if you're _really_ smiling inside."

Kurt sighed a bit, leaning so that his head was on Blaine's shoulder. "I'm worried about you. You're cooking is still severely limited."

"I can make breakfast, pasta, pork chops, and brownies." Blaine protested. "You have no reason to worry."

Kurt stood and pulled Blaine up, sliding his arms around his boyfriend's waist and tugging him close. "I hope you know what you're getting into being roommates with Wes and some stranger. But I'm mostly worried about you living with Wes. He's a bad influence."

"I wish Wes and I were living alone." Blaine sighed a bit. "Then I could take Oreo. I can't believe the only person we both liked enough to live with is allergic to cats and dogs."

"Yes, but you know how excited Melody is." Kurt pointed out.

Blaine smiled. "She's going to take good care of Oreo."

"No. Carole and I will take good care of Oreo. Melody will carry her around and pretend to be a cat."

Blaine giggled a bit. "She just keeps getting cuter and cuter."

"Of course she does." Kurt said, nuzzling Blaine's shoulder. "How are we going to do this? How do we sleep without each other? How will I ever get out of bed on the weekends without you to annoy me out of my coma? How will you ever maintain any semblance of a healthy diet without me there to make you dinner and pack you lunches? What happens when you get… when you get sad about stuff and I can't hug you? Or when I get bogged down with work and no one is there to remind me that it's okay to just breathe?"

Blaine's smile faded and he pursed his lips together. "I… I don't know, Kurt, but we'll be okay."

Kurt took a deep and shuddery breath, moving to sit on the bed. He was happy for Blaine. He really was. But he was still sad that Blaine would be so far away. Blaine was such an intricate part of his life by now. It was going to be hard to adjust. Then again, he reminded himself, it would be harder for Blaine. At least Kurt would be in a familiar environment with his family. Blaine would be in a whole new state.

"Kurt… babe…" Blaine said, sitting down by him.

Kurt sat up straight, placing his hand over Blaine's heart and staring at him intensely.

"I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but we'll figure out how to live apart from each other." Blaine said gently. "It's only a few years."

"I don't want to have to figure it out. I wish I could just fast forward to when it's routine and it doesn't hurt anymore." Kurt took another deep breath. "I'm really happy for you."

"I know that. It doesn't mean that you can't be sad that I'll be leaving." Blaine said gently. "It doesn't make you unsupportive or a bad boyfriend. I'm sad I'll be leaving you too."

"You are?" Kurt asked, looking unsure.

"How could I not be sad to be living thirteen hours away from you?" Blaine asked, staring at him in shock. "Yes, I'm going away to a school I want to attend. That does not, however, mean that I'm not going to miss you. Wouldn't you be sad if you were the one leaving first?"

"Yes." Kurt admitted. "I would."

"This is happening to both of us whether we like it or not." Blaine said slowly. "But remember what we discussed."

"We're going to openly talk about our feelings." Kurt said softly.

"We're going to still always be there for each other." Blaine added.

"And we're going to get through this." Kurt finished. "Because we love each other and nothing can touch us or what we have."

Blaine touched Kurt's cheek, gently stroking his soft skin with the back of his hand. "We're going to openly talk about our feelings, always be there for each other, and get through this."

"I feel better." Kurt gave him a weak smile. Sadness was not an option. At least not yet. He could be sad on the plane back to Lima. Now, he had less than 24 hours left with Blaine. They had to make their last day together count. "I was thinking that after the dinner maybe we could go and get some cheesecake? And go to the Lima Bean for old times sake?"

"I would _love_ that." Blaine said, smiling widely.

They both looked up as the door to the bedroom _very_ slowly opened.

"Who is _theeeeeere_?" Blaine called in a sing song voice.

They heard a little giggle before Melody tip toed in, a silly smile plastered on her face.

"Hi Kuuuuuuurt and Blaaaaaaine."

"Hey, Mellie Boo!" Kurt smiled and ran to scoop her up, carrying her over. "What are you doing, beautiful?"

"Good question." Blaine gasped. "I thought Mommy put you down for a nap."

Melody rubbed her eyes and blinked at him before holding her tiny finger to her lips.'M not sleepy."

"Are you trying to shush me?" Kurt gasped as he sat down, placing Melody neatly on his lap. "You mean I can't shout that you're not asleep?"

"Noooo!" Melody giggled loudly.

"Are you _sure_?" Blaine asked, tickling her leg.

"Blaine!" She giggled even louder and kicked at him.

"Ah ah ah. _No kicking_." Kurt said firmly.

Melody giggled, kicking her leg in Blaine's direction again.

"Ow!" Blaine whined, although her tiny foot had come nowhere near his leg.

Melody tilted her head before looking down at his leg, clearly confused.

"You kicked me!" Blaine gasped, pointing at his leg.

Melody crawled off of Kurt's lap and bent down, rubbing the exact spot Blaine had pointed to. "All better?"

"Awww, did you hurt Blaine's leg?" Kurt asked, looking at Melody and letting his jaw drop in mock shock.

"Nooooo." Melody giggled and shook her head.

"But you tried to make it better." Kurt said.

Melody tilted her to the side again before Blaine began to giggle.

"You boys are mean." Melody said, clambering off of the bed. "Finn is my favorite."

This time both Kurt and Blaine laughed loudly.

"I'm going byebye." Melody huffed as they laughed, stomping out of the room.

Kurt's laugh quieted as Melody left the room and he smiled. "She's so funny, isn't she?"

"I love making her mad." Blaine giggled. "I think she hates me, though."

"You do know that she calls you her brother, right? Everyone at daycare thinks she has three brothers." Kurt said.

"No, I didn't know that." Blaine said, feeling his heart flutter. "Aww, really?"

"Ask Carole." Kurt nodded eagerly. "I promise."

"Hey, Kurt?" Blaine asked, looking at Kurt. "Do you think we could just lie down together until dinner is done?"

Kurt moved into a laying position and opened his arms. "I think that's a very good idea."

Blaine lay down, pressing himself against Kurt and closing his eyes. Of everything, he was pretty sure he would miss laying with Kurt the most. No matter who held who or what position they were in, their bodies fit perfectly together. Blaine loved to cuddle and Kurt was always more than willing to cuddle right up with Blaine, fingers linked together or gripping one another's shirt or running through the other's hair. He and Kurt had literally slept in the same bed almost every night for four years and that would be the hardest… not sleeping in the same bed with Kurt Hummel. How would he do that?

What if he was making the wrong decision?

…

"We just want you to know that we are _so_ proud of you, Blaine. I know you're probably nervous going off to Boston and all, but you deserve this opportunity more than anyone else at that damn school." Burt said gruffly late that night after the dishes had been cleared and Melody put to bed.

"Thanks." Blaine said, sitting on the couch next to Kurt.

"So proud." Carole repeated. "And this time next year we'll be sending Kurt off to New York. We're so proud of _both_ of you."

Kurt rested his hand on Blaine's thigh, nudging his foot with his own as he smiled a bit. He tried to not think of how this time tomorrow night he would be on his way back to Lima on an airplane. Early in the morning he was driving to Boston with Blaine. _Early, early_ because they intended to make it there by five in the afternoon. He had a flight back to Ohio starting at eight, nine, he couldn't remember. It wasn't important. After all, he wasn't thinking about it. Right? There was time for that later.

He felt Blaine's fingers lacing through his and he squeezed Blaine's hand tightly, letting his head fall onto Blaine's shoulder. He smiled when Blaine's lips brushed the side of his head.

As much as the idea of Blaine being thirteen hours away hurt, this was such a good opportunity for him. One that Blaine could not let go away. He had made it to _Harvard_. There was no exaggeration when Kurt gushed about how proud he was of Blaine. His boyfriend was so, so smart. Smarter than he gave himself credit for. Blaine deserved this more than anyone at Harvard Law. This was his _dream_. Despite all of the stuff with Blaine's parents, his dream was coming true.

"We're all going to miss you so much." Carole said again, pulling Kurt away from his thoughts. "No one more than Kurt, of course."

"We'll still see each other a lot." Kurt said as cheerfully as he could, just as he said to himself every single time he thought of exactly how far away Blaine was going to be. "It's Harvard after all. It's where he's meant to be for right now."

"Thank you for everything." Blaine said quietly, looking at Burt and Carole. "For letting me stay here with you all, for helping me get through UK, for giving me a family. I…" he trailed off, swallowing a lump in his throat. "I guess this is what it would have felt like to leave for UK if I had a real family. It's sad."

Carole wrapped her arms around him. "If you start to cry, Kurt will, and then I will. Don't you do that!"

"I won't, I won't, I promise!" Blaine laughed. "It's just… I really want you two to know that I… I've always appreciated everything and I think you two are a-amazing people."

Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand and squeezed it tightly. His heart skipped a beat when Blaine squeezed back tightly. Kurt had wondered if Blaine was sadder than he'd been acting the past few days and he was beginning to see that he was right.

"So, thank you. Just… just thank you very much." Blaine finished somewhat lamely. "You saw me as more than just Kurt's boyfriend and it… it means a lot to me. It really does."

"You don't have to thank us, kid. We have been more than happy to be there for you." Burt said. "You know you're family."

"They love you." Kurt leaned over, pressing his lips to Blaine's shoulder.

"We do." Both Carole and Burt said together.

Blaine leaned against Kurt and smiled a bit, feeling several emotions sweep over him at once and not knowing what to say. It was possible he wouldn't have been able to speak even if he'd found words.

"Don't you worry about anything. I'll be sending both you and your friend Wes care packages." Carole said. "Does that sound nice?"

Blaine stood, going over and hugging her tightly.

"We love you, sweetie." Carole whispered, hugging him back. "And we're very, very happy for you."

Blaine pulled away and took a deep breath, tears swimming in his eyes. It was going to be harder to say goodbye to Carole than it had been so say goodbye to his mom four years ago. That wasn't a big surprise though. His mother had been glad that Blaine was going off to Dalton and UK. Carole was happy, of course. In fact, she'd started crying the second Blaine handed her his acceptance letter—without even opening it. She had been more of a mother to Blaine in the last few years than his own mother had ever been.

"You boys go on and get out of here." Carole patted his arm and then went to Kurt, smoothing his hair down before kissing his cheek.

Kurt hugged her and stood, holding out his hand for Blaine.

"Be careful." Burt said gruffly, patting Kurt's back.

"We will." Kurt promised before leading Blaine out of the house. He tried not to think about the fact that the next time they left would be to drive to Boston.

...

"Medium Drip and a Nonfat Mocha." The barista at the Lima Bean said, pushing two cups across the counter.

"Thanks." Blaine said, flashing the barista a smile and picking up his and Kurt's drink. He then made his way over, sitting at their old usual table.

"They're pretty busy for it being so late." Kurt said thoughtfully, taking a sip of his drink.

"Yeah." Blaine said, resting his foot against Kurt's under the table.

"So it all starts tomorrow. You'll be at Harvard." Kurt said, leaning forward over the table.

"I know." Blaine nodded. "It's kind of scary."

"You're excited." Kurt nudged Blaine's foot with his own.

"I am excited." Blaine said, leaning back against his chair. "I'm scared too, but I am so excited. I just feel like my entire life is about to change. I _did_ it, Kurt. I wish I had been there to see Dad's face when he found out I'm going to Harvard. I bet it was amazing."

Kurt smiled. Blaine's excitement was getting to the point where it was almost infectious. It was good to see Blaine so happy _._ "I told you that you would prove them all wrong, didn't I?"

"It's just _happening_. It's a big 'fuck you' to him, to my mom, and to my horrible grandmother. I did all of this without _anything_ from them. _I_ did it. He said I'd never be anything and I'm—I'm going to Harvard tomorrow. I am going to be someone, Kurt."

"You've always been someone, Blaine." Kurt looked into his eyes. "And you'll always be someone. It doesn't take getting into Harvard to prove that. All someone needs to do is talk to you to know you're someone."

"I think your goal is to make me cry before I leave." Blaine said, laughing a bit and then taking a deep breath.

"No. It's just the truth. Just ask David. He's like your proud papa." Kurt laughed a bit as well. "It's the truth."

"I'm glad we came here. Melody free. I was afraid she would force us to take her." Blaine snorted. "She gets what she wants."

"What can I say? Dad likes to spoil his babies." Kurt smirked. "What is the first thing you want to do once you're in Boston on your own? Hopefully it doesn't concern getting drunk with Wes. That might be a bad first impression if you show up to your first class drunk or hung over."

"As I have promised every single person a million times, Wes and I will not spend all of our free time drinking." Blaine promised, laughing. "Don't worry about it."

"So what _do_ you want to do?" Kurt prompted.

"I don't think I want to tell you. It doesn't include alcohol though."

"Find the best restaurants?" Kurt shook his head.

"Well, I didn't want to come out and _say_ that. You just know me too well." Blaine laughed. "Wes and I are going to restaurant hop, yep. He's already got a list of the order in which we'll go."

"Full meals?"

"Nope. Just one thing per place." Blaine shrugged. "Pretty boring, huh?"

"I expected no less." Kurt snorted.

"I have a feeling you and Alec will be bonding." Blaine laughed. "That or basically living at CCAD."

"I don't think he'll let me live at CCAD." Kurt sighed. "Ever since the whole being barely conscious in his house, he's almost been as bad as _you_."

"I don't know why you didn't consider living with him on campus."

Kurt shrugged a bit. "We're good friends, but I don't think we know each other well enough to live together… He suggested it, but I turned it down. Besides, I figured if I really am going to go to Parsons next year that I should try to spend as much time with Dad as possible. You know how he got when I moved less than two hours away. I dread the repercussions of _this_ move."

"Luckily Burt has a year to come to terms with it, I guess." Blaine said in an attempt to reassure him. He looked around the shop. "You know, this is kind of where it all began. Coffee dates that were coffee dates but not really coffee dates."

"Yeah. It kind of was, wasn't it?" Kurt looked around also.

"I'm glad we got the chance to come back tonight." Blaine smiled. "It's nice to come back here. Everything is so different now, but this place really reminds me of… us."

"I thought you might appreciate coming back here." Kurt smiled back. "It just felt like a place to go before you go away."

Blaine leaned over the table, pressing his lips to Kurt's. "I love you."

"I love you too." Kurt said, reaching up and pulling Blaine back for another kiss. "So much."

* * *

"Don't be sad, Kurt." Blaine whispered the next day, lacing his fingers through Kurt's. "It's not forever. We'll see each other. It will be okay."

"I don't know how you expect me to _not_ be sad that you're going to be thirteen hours away. _Thirteen_." Kurt said, feeling a lump in his throat. He refused to let it surface. Not until the plane. No. He wouldn't.

He had not outright cried. Not in four weeks and _never_ in front of Blaine. Sure, he had come very close before putting a stopper in it. If he had held off for four weeks, he wasn't about to start now. Not in front of Blaine. He was a horrible person, he really was. Who was he to be upset and selfish on Blaine's big day? Yes, he was going to miss Blaine terribly. But acting sad was only going to make Blaine sad. Blaine didn't need to be upset his first day in Boston. He was sure Blaine was anxious enough already without having to worry about Kurt too.

"Distance doesn't matter." Blaine said gently. "You matter. You and I."

Kurt swallowed hard, burying his hands in his jeans pockets and staring around Blaine's room in the apartment he was sharing with Wes and some other guy that wouldn't be showing up for a while. He and Blaine had shared a room together for… for nearly four years. Now Blaine had his own room, right next to Wes'. His own little house that was rented—despite the fact that Kurt had tried talking Blaine into renting an actual house as opposed to their apartment for months before Blaine's big Harvard announcement.

Kurt wouldn't be in that bed with Blaine every single night.

How was Kurt supposed to get to sleep without Blaine snuggling up, burying his face in the crook of Kurt's neck and shoulder? Without Blaine's soft breathing in his ear, even without the (more than) occasional quiet snores? How was he supposed to just change his entire life style?

How was he supposed to live without Blaine?

Tears filled his eyes involuntarily and he took in a shaky breath. Control. He had to control this. He wasn't going to cry. Not in front of Blaine.

"Oh, Kurt, honey…" Blaine stepped forward, arms going around his younger boyfriend. "Kurt, it's okay… Shh… It's okay. Please don't cry."

"I'm trying really hard not to." Kurt said trying to wipe away the tears that spilled over. "I'm s-sorry, Blaine. I'm not crying."

"You are." Blaine said gently, kissing the top of his head. "Shh. Shh."

"I d-don't want you to think I'm not happy f-for you. Because I am." Kurt cried.

"I know. I know you are." Blaine whispered.

"Y-You're just going to be so f-far away and I'm going to miss you so much." Kurt cried into his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Blaine. I am. I promise."

"Don't apologize." Blaine whispered, glancing at the hallway through his open door. He heard Wes on the phone, loudly laughing at something that the person had said. "You're allowed to be sad. I am too. But it's going to be okay."

"How is it going to be okay when we have to drive half a day to see each other?" Kurt questioned, sniffling and wiping his eyes. He stepped back. "How is it?"

"Because we're going to make it work." Blaine said, just as he always said. "We are going to work hard at it and we're going to make it work. Next year you'll go to Parsons and we'll be much closer—a two hour drive each for us to meet in the middle. We'll still see each other. We'll have the phone, Skype, whatever form of communication you want. We'll talk every day. I can send you a handwritten letter a day even if you want."

Kurt let out a watery laugh, grip on Blaine's shirt loosening. "Texts will suffice."

"I'll send a few love letters anyway." Blaine stroked his cheek.

Kurt glanced down at his watch from Blaine—which he _always_ wore unless he was somewhere he was afraid he might lose it— and then looked back up at him. "You should take me now so I can catch the plane back to Ohio."

Blaine frowned and gave a small nod, putting his hand on the small of Kurt's back and walking out to his car with his boyfriend. Seeing Kurt finally cry was like a knife to his heart. On top of that, it was made worse because Blaine had _caused_ the tears.

He really, really hoped he was making the right decision.

…

"Thanks for… you know… riding up here with me." Blaine said, holding both of Kurt's hands with his own an hour later. They didn't have long, but he had gone as far into the airport as he was allowed and he didn't plan to leave until Kurt absolutely _had_ to. "I know it was hard for you to do that and I really appreciate it…"

Kurt pulled his hands away and threw his arms around Blaine's neck, holding on tightly. The last time he'd said goodbye Blaine was four hours away, going to UK, and Kurt had helped him move because his parents "were busy." For as sad as he'd been that day, he was realizing that it had been nothing compared to what he felt right now. He squeezed his eyes shut when Blaine's arms went around him, holding him close. He didn't want to move from this position ever. How long would it be before he got another hug?

"I'm going to miss you so much, Blaine." Kurt choked out, beginning to cry again.

"Not near as much as I'll miss you, Kurt." Blaine said, voice muffled by Kurt's shoulder.

"I don't know how to be without you." Kurt whispered pathetically, pulling away and looking at Blaine with big blue eyes. "I haven't spent more than two nights away from you in nearly four years."

"You aren't _without_ me." Blaine said, touching his cheek. "I'm not dying. We're not breaking up. I'm just going to school."

"I am trying to handle this the adult way but it's really hard." Kurt said. "Part of me wants to throw my arms around you and beg you to not leave."

"Please don't." Blaine whispered. "You know I can't say no to you, Kurt."

"That's why I'm not." Kurt said, voice hitching. This was harder than he thought it would be. Why hadn't he at least spent the night and got a morning flight? Why hadn't Kurt originally gone to Parsons so he could be closer to him now? Why hadn't he transferred for his last year? Why, why, why? "Because t-this is amazing. What you're about to do. B-But it hurts."

"I'm sad too." Blaine said, kissing his forehead.

"I'm so proud of you. I r-really am." Kurt said, kissing the side of his face repeatedly. "Y-you did it, Blaine. And I'm s-so proud. We're all so proud."

"Don't." Blaine said, his own voice hitching now.

"You're going to be amazing." Kurt said, still crying. "I know it. You're going to do amazing and you'll become a lawyer and y-you'll show everyone just h-how amazing I a-already know you are."

Blaine gripped him tighter, tears filling his eyes. "T-Thank you. T-That means a lot t-to me."

"I l-love you so much, Blaine."

"I love you too, Kurt." Blaine whispered, hearing an announcement that Kurt's flight was preparing to board. An announcement that meant he had to leave. "C-Call me when you make it?"

"Y-Yes." Kurt nodded, more tears spilling over.

"As soon as you land?" Blaine asked, lips brushing against Kurt's ear.

"I don't k-know how to leave you." Kurt said, shoulders shaking. "I c-can't do this."

"I w-wish you could stay but y-you've got school." Blaine said, running his hand up and down Kurt's back as his heart shattered into a million tiny pieces. "It will only be a y-year. Less, really."

"I don't know how to be happy without you." Kurt pulled away, roughly wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Oh, Kurt…" Blaine whispered, sniffling. "I'm going to see you in four weeks. Remember?"

"I-I know. I… I have to go or I won't be able to." Kurt said shakily, stepping forward and kissing him—kissing him passionately, hungrily, desperately and in a way that left Blaine wanting _more_. "I love you so much… I really and truly do."

"I love you too, Kurt. Call me when you make it back. That second."

"I will." Kurt promised, kissing the corner of his mouth. "Bye."

Blaine kissed back, heart shattering even more as Kurt took off, not looking back. Blaine was grateful he didn't. He didn't know if he would have stayed in Boston if he had.


	3. Chapter 3

"And then we'll eat celery because it's healthy." Kurt said a few weeks later as Melody nibbled on celery, his chin rested in the palm of his hand and his elbow on the kitchen table.

"Yum yum yum!" Melody said, kicking her legs out.

"Is it yummy?" Kurt asked, sitting up straight and snapping another small piece of celery off for his little sister.

"Nummy nummy!" Melody nodded, giving him an adorable grin.

"Well that's good." Kurt forced a smile and placed another piece in front of her. "I wish I was three sometimes. Out of sight, out of mind. You're not sad he's gone, are you?"

Melody reached over and patted his shoulder, which was the only thing she could read. "No be sad, Kurt!"

Kurt let out a laugh and then said energetically, "Alright! Would you like some peanut butter to go with your celery? Just because Blaine doesn't like it doesn't mean you can't."

"Nuh-uh!" Melody shook her head.

The back door opened and Carole came into the kitchen, smiling brightly. "Thank you for picking her up again, Kurt. I don't know what Burt and I would be doing now if you hadn't moved back into the house with us. It's a horrible cycle, isn't it? Daycare price goes up so I have to work more, but to do those hours I can't even pick her up on time."

"Don't worry about it." Kurt smiled at her.

"MOMMA!" Melody waved at her. "Momma! Look! Celery!"

"Oh! Kurt gave you a snack!" Carole gasped, going over to her.

"Uh huh!" Melody nodded.

"Did you thank him for giving you a snack?" Carole asked.

"Thank you, Kurt!" Melody squealed.

"You're welcome, ma'am!" Kurt sat her on the floor and watched her run off, giggling.

"Thank you, hon. Really." Carole squeezed Kurt's shoulder. "I know you're busy with school stuff but we really appreciate you helping out with picking her up and watching her until one of us can make it home."

It was true. He did have a lot to do school wise with it being his final year at CCAD, but having a lot to do was helping him to not think about Blaine—something that was very hard to do, he should add. While he could have used the extra hour and a half four days a week to do things for school, he didn't mind the distraction. Besides, bonding with Melody was a lot of fun when she wasn't throwing temper tantrums.

"It's no problem." Kurt said for the millionth time in three weeks, standing up. "She usually falls asleep on the way and sleeps for a good thirty minutes after I get home so I can start on homework. She hasn't even been awake for very long. Just long enough to eat her celery.

"Kurt, are you alright?" Carole asked, looking at him. "You seem off… especially these last few days."

"I'm fine." Kurt said, looking away.

"You've been really quiet." Carole said.

"I've been busy with homework is all."

"Even when you're _not_ doing homework."

"I'm fine." Kurt repeated.

"Sweetheart, if you want to talk… I'm here for you." Carole reached over and took his hand, squeezing it. "And Burt doesn't have to know."

Kurt sighed and sat back down at the table, staring at the patterns in the wood. He hurt. He literally hurt.

He glanced up as Carole sat next to him, watching him intently.

"I haven't… uh… I haven't really gotten the chance to talk to Blaine in four days." Kurt stared down at the table. "It's… Last week was like that too… I miss the sound of his voice and… and his everything."

"I know it's not the same, hon… but when Finn's father first left for the war… We had always been very close and I remember what it was like to have that cut off so abruptly and to sometimes go weeks without hearing from him." Carole said gently.

"I guess I didn't think about that." Kurt said, sitting up a little straighter and looking at her. "Sorry."

She smiled and patted his hand. "It's alright, Kurt. I know that you're hurting right now but… Can I say something?"

"Yes." Kurt nodded.

"It seems to me like you've gotten into this… routine of sorts. You get up, you go to school, you pick Melody up four nights a week, and you do homework before going to bed." Carole said, voice still very gentle and kind. "You haven't been talking to your father, Finn, or I. You're not talking to Blaine… In fact, the only person it seems like you're talking with is Melody."

Kurt bit his lip.

"And while she should certainly be flattered," Carole continued. "You really need to not do that. You're sad that Blaine is gone. It's so different from the life you two had for four years. But it seems like you're trying to close yourself off."

"I just really miss him. I feel selfish when I think like that, though, so I'm trying to just not talk at all." Kurt confided, looking at her. "I'm really glad that he's living his dream, Carole. Nobody is prouder than me. He deserves this more than anyone. Dad was right when he said that. But it still hurts. It hurts that he's not here to hug or to kiss or to snuggle. It sucks that I can't come in from school and find him asleep on the couch with a book on his stomach or with Kreacher laying on his back. He's there with his best friend and my two best friends are in New York together… and Finn's about to move to New York and propose to Rachel…"

Carole watched him intently.

"It feels like _I_ should be the one getting engaged. Don't get me wrong. Finn and Rachel can go get married if they want as disastrous as that outcome could be." Kurt said. "But it feels like everyone is out doing their dream and I'm still here. In Ohio. Like I said I wouldn't be. Not only that, but before I could handle it. Before I was with Blaine. And now he's not even here."

Carole nodded, still listening closely.

"And that stuff sucks. Believe me. But I just—It's mostly that I _miss him_. So much." Kurt felt his lip start to tremble and he took a deep, steadying breath. "He's okay without me, Carole. E-Every time we talk he sounds completely normal and happy and every time it kills me a little inside b-because I'm not h-happy. I'm h-happy for him but I-I'm not happy. A-And that makes me w-wonder i-if w-we're going to gr-grow apart. O-Or if he even mi-misses me."

Carole leaned over, wrapping her arms around him and rubbing her hand up and down his back. "Shh, shh… Of course he misses you, Kurt."

"He s-says it but he doesn't s-sound like i-it." Kurt choked out, shaking his head. "I should want h-him to be happy w-without me b-but I… I don't k-know. I don't k-know."

"Did you ever think that maybe he's acting more okay than he really is for the same reason?" Carole asked quietly.

Kurt wiped his eyes. "I-It doesn't seem that way."

Carole continued to rub his back comfortingly. "I can promise you that he misses you just as much as you miss him. _Both_ of you are going through big adjustments, sweetie. But an adjustment takes time to get used to. That's why it's an adjustment. Once you get more used to it, everything will be easier."

"I d-don't want it to be easy without him. I just want h-him." Kurt mumbled. "I don't mean to sound selfish. I wouldn't say this stuff to h-him. I'm really happy for him. I guess I'm feeling sorry for me."

"You may feel selfish but I think anyone in your position would have similar feelings. You're young and both of you had a lot invested in this relationship. You and Blaine are very close and that's something special." Carole brushed back some of his hair. "But it can be just as special even if he's not right with you. Maybe instead of focusing on him not being here, you should think about when he's coming to visit."

Kurt took a deep breath and then nodded. "You're right."

She smiled sadly. "It will make it easier. Just keep telling yourself that you get to see him in less than a week for the first time in a month."

Kurt wiped his eyes again, smiling a bit. "That makes me feel considerably better."

"As it should." She smiled again and kissed the top of his head. "I was thinking of making a cheesecake. Would you like to help me?"

"I would really enjoy that actually." Kurt sat up straight.

"You don't have a lot of homework due tomorrow, right?" she asked warily.

"No. My homework is done for the next two days." Kurt reassured her, laughing a bit.

"Alright. Let me make sure Melody hasn't destroyed the entire house and we'll get started. I'll be right back." Carole laughed and left the kitchen, calling, "Melody? Where have you gotten to?"

…

"How did your internship thing go?"

"No, no, no. How did your first exam go?"

"You go first."

"No, _you_ go first."

"Aah! Okay!" Blaine laughed later that night, almost looking bashful. "Alright. The exam went very well. I knew the stuff inside and out and apparently it was very obvious. I got a 98."

"That's so good!" Kurt exclaimed.

"Well, the average was 95 so I guess it's not _that_ much better." Blaine said somewhat sheepishly.

"No. Stop. You've got to accept the fact that you're more awesome than all of them. They're the ones you'll be competing against when you graduate." Kurt said sternly. "There's no point in going to such a good school if you're going to be modest about it. You need to own what you're doing."

Blaine laughed again. "Okay, well… I did have the highest grade. And I did study three hours less than most people…"

"See? Imagine if you added those three hours to that." Kurt flashed him a big smile.

"I love you." Blaine smiled at him. "Now how did the internship thing go?"

"It was just a meeting with my adviser." Kurt shrugged. "Three designers approached her. They want me to intern for them. They—."

Kurt looked up abruptly as his bedroom door scooted open and Melody chased Kreacher into the room, half tripping over her feet as she tried to catch him.

"MINE DOGGY! COME DOGGY!" she yelped as she stood herself back up and chased Kreacher out of the room again.

"Melody, be careful!" Kurt called, shaking his head before returning his attention to the screen. "I don't even remember what I was talking about now."

"The fact that three designers are _approaching you_ to intern for them!" Blaine said excitedly. "Kurt, that's _amazing_. You aren't even out of CCAD yet and people have obviously noticed your talent. Are you going to intern for one of them? Do you have to or want to?"

"I don't think I _have_ to, but I set up meetings with all of them. My adviser said I should do that and decide who to work with. I might even get paid for it… It's kind of crazy." Kurt admitted. "I'm a little nervous to see what happens."

"Don't be nervous. This is really, really good. And if you get someone who has connections, just imagine…" Blaine grinned. "Oh my God, Kurt, this makes me so happy! This could really set up everything for you."

"You're so excited." Kurt laughed and smiled at him. "You know you're amazing, right?"

"Hush." Blaine waved his hand. "I haven't talked to you in ages. Tell me about the fashion show now."

"What if I want to talk about _you_ some more?" Kurt questioned.

"Nothing big is going on." Blaine shrugged. "I did the test yesterday. I have another one next week but I'm not too worried about it. I've just been studying and writing a lot."

"Writing?" Kurt questioned.

"Essays, study sheets, that kind of thing." Blaine shrugged. "Now tell me about the fashion show!"

"Alright, alright!" Kurt laughed this time and reached over, pulling a binder over. "Let me get… It's all right _here_."

Blaine sat, looking excited and eager.

"Okay… May 11th at night."

"YES!" Blaine exclaimed. "That's _the day after_ my last final! I was so afraid that I was going to have to miss it! That's perfect!"

"I heard exclamations. Have you finally decided to break down and go halfsies on me for that awesome TV? The ratings are great, I know." Wes said, poking his head into the room.

"Oh my God." Blaine rolled his eyes.

"Even better! You're talking to Kurt!" Wes came further into the room, plopping down by Blaine. "Kurt, he is _killing me_. He has been _horrible_. He's so homesick that it's almost pitiful. _I wonder what Kurt's doing right now, I wish Kurt could share this ice cream with me, do you think Kurt misses me as much as him? Kurt never seems sad, do you think he's glad I'm gone?_ "

Blaine looked down, biting his lip.

"Blaine!" Kurt gasped. "Of course I miss you! I don't want to make you feel bad or worry, though."

"Really?" Blaine asked, looking up hopefully.

"Told you." Wes grinned and ruffled Blaine's hair. "Just show him your manbits or something so he'll stop whining, Kurt."

"Wes, get _out_!" Blaine whine, pushing at Wes as he blushed—actually _blushed_. "Kurt, why would you let me room with Wes?"

"Aw, look at Baby Blainers." Wes cooed. "Did you know we used to call him that, Kurt? 'Cause he liked to snug—."

" _Go_!" Blaine said.

"What? What did he do?" Kurt, always eager to hear embarrassing Blaine stories, asked loudly.

" _Don't you dare_. I have dirt on you, Wes." Blaine hissed.

"He makes the funniest noise when you—."

"GO AWAY!" Blaine exclaimed, pushing him even harder.

"Right here!" Wes finished, tickling a spot on Blaine's neck.

Blaine whimpered and covered his face.

"The little snuffle?" Kurt asked, looking disappointed. "Oh, I know about that. It's cute, though."

"This is my life." Blaine moaned, shaking his head and still hiding behind his hand.

"I'll be leaving before he kills me." Wes said in a sing song voice as he stood himself up straight. "See ya, Kurt."

"Bye, Wes." Kurt laughed as the bedroom door shut. "How long will he be gone for?"

"I don't know." Blaine shrugged. "He just wanders in and out whenever he gets bored or hungry."

Kurt tilted his head and looked at Blaine. "Is it… Was he exaggerating? Or are you really that sad?"

Blaine hesitated and then closed his eyes tightly. "I'm really that sad. Having all of this school work helps distract me but it's hard to not be close to you…"

"And it's worst at night." Kurt said softly.

"It's horrible at night. It takes me forever to fall asleep without you." Blaine admitted.

"I do miss you as much as you miss me." Kurt promised. "I miss you so much. I miss you so much that I feel selfish for missing you that much… but I want you to be happy and I know this is going to make you happy."

"I love you so much." Blaine gave him a small smile.

"Are you sure you can't get up here earlier than two weeks from now?" Kurt asked.

"I'm sure." Blaine nodded and bit his lip. "Can you come out here?"

"You know my only day off of classes besides the weekend is Wednesday." Kurt sighed. "I wish I'd made it Monday or Friday so I could go up some weekends, but…"

"I'll pay for you to come on a weekend." Blaine offered.

"Blaine… I wouldn't get there until really late Friday and have to probably leave early Sunday… I don't think it's worth it." Kurt frowned.

"I think it's worth it." Blaine frowned too.

"That's so much money, babe… For not even two full days? That's not very rational."

"I don't _feel_ rational. I just want to touch you."

"Well isn't that lovely." Wes chirped standing in the doorway once again.

"WES!" Blaine yelped. "Not like that! Go away! What do you want?"

"I can't do those in order you realize?" Wes grinned mischievously.

"You make my life so difficult." Blaine hung his head. "What do you want?"

"To know if…. YOU WANT PIZZA?" Wes shouted eagerly.

Blaine, not expecting that, jumped and then faked a glare. "I'm right here. You don't have to yell."

"I couldn't contain my excitement, Blainers." Wes smiled sweetly, wiggling his fingers at Kurt in a manic wave, and then returned his attention to Blaine. "Would you care for some pizza, Mr. Future Lawyer?"

"I don't care how many times you call me that, Wes. I'm not calling you Mr. Future Biochemist." Blaine rolled his eyes. "But sure. Get cinnamon sticks too!"

"As if I'd forget." Wes snorted as he left the room.

"He does know that we just talked five minutes ago, right? Because he just waved at me." Kurt laughed a bit.

"Who knows with him?" Blaine shrugged and looked back at the screen. "I'll pay for you to fly down here, Kurt."

"Blaine, it's… it's too much money for such a short amount of time. I would love to… you know that… but I've also got school work. Things are… well, I've been getting Melody from day care because of… well, prices have gone up so Carole is working more… and I… I can get the stuff done, but it's taking longer. So I'll really…" Kurt looked down, feeling horrible. "Need those days to get work done. Are you mad?"

"Of course I'm not mad." Blaine sighed. "You're having to pick up Melody?"

"It's not a big deal. Usually she naps until Carole's home, but I still have to feed her and get her ready for her naps and stuff." Kurt shrugged and looked back into the screen. "It's not a big deal and I don't mind to do it, but it does take away time from school."

"I still don't know why you didn't opt to room with Alec. It would be closer to school and everything."

"Alec and I are friends but I don't know if we're close enough to live together. Also, don't you think that might be a little weird for you and I considering you used to think… well, you know?" Kurt sighed. "Besides, this drive is almost as long as the drive from our old apartment and I'm being able to spend time with Dad, Carole, and Melody… I feel like it would be harder if I made such a big change now with all of the other big changes."

"That's understandable." Blaine nodded. "But if you wanted to… I wouldn't think that again. I promise. I'd be fine with it."

"The only gay man I will ever live with is you." Kurt said firmly.

Blaine laughed a bit. "So the date is all that you know about the fashion show so far?"

"Not a whole lot yet." Kurt nodded. "We should know more pretty soon though."

"Keep me updated." Blaine said, glancing down at his hand.

"You have to go?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, for a bit." Blaine nodded. "I have some studying to do before dinner. Is that okay?"

"Yeah. It's fine." Kurt forced a smile. "Think you can talk again later tonight?"

"I think so." Blaine smiled back at him. "Kurt… I'm glad that you're not glad I'm gone."

"I miss you so much." Kurt said. "So much that it hurts."

"I know the feeling." Blaine's smile became forced and he swallowed. "Alright, well… I'll talk to you tonight. Get your homework done."

"Hey, wait." Kurt said quickly. "You're not upset that I can't fly out there this weekend, right?"

"Of course not." Blaine answered right away. "No, of course not. It would be nice to see you this weekend but two weeks from now I'm definitely good to come down, right?"

"Yes." Kurt's smile grew. "Yes, definitely."

"Great." Blaine's smile grew once again too. "I love you, Kurt. I'll talk to you later tonight, okay?"

"Okay, babe. I love you too." Kurt waved. "Bye."

"Bye." Blaine said, closing his laptop. He leaned back against his chair and ran his hands over his face and then through his hair.

"Pizza's here, Blaine!" Wes called through Blaine's now shut door.

"Already?" Blaine sighed and stood up, calling, "I'm coming, Wes!"

 _I wish I hadn't gotten off of the call with Kurt_ , he thought as he went out into the hall. He felt his roommate's eyes on him as he walked past and rolled his own eyes as he came to a halt next to Wes in the living room.

"I'm going to hurt that guy one day." Blaine vowed quietly as he picked up a slice of pepperoni pizza.

"Is he giving you looks again?" Wes asked sharply, eyes narrowing.

"Don't you see the holes in the back of my head?" Blaine forced a grin although it was hard to smile at all when he kept thinking about how much he wanted to see Kurt.

" _Lame_!" Wes laughed. "Come on, Blaine. You can do better than that?"

"Maybe I'll put effort into it tomorrow." Blaine laughed a bit too and bit into his pizza. "How much do I owe you?"

"Purchased courtesy of Dad's credit card." Wes grinned. "Hey, why are you putting money in that envelope?"

"This is my 'Blaine's Portion of Money for Things That Were Purchased Courtesy of Wes' Dad' envelope. Blaine responded.

"Hey, can I have the cash in there?" Wes asked eagerly. "Because he's not going to let you give it to him anyway."

"No!" Blaine laughed again. "You're horrible. _Horrible_."

"Don't pretend you don't love me." Wes winked. "Because we both know you think I'm hotter than David."

"Not this again." Blaine groaned. "I'm going to do homework."

"It's the eyes!" Wes called after him as he made his way to his bedroom. "They're lovely, aren't they?"

Blaine let his bedroom door shut, shaking his head.

…

"Blaine? Blaine?"

Blaine groaned and rolled over.

"Watch out. Your book. Wake up."

"Mmmh?" Blaine sat up, facing the back of the couch.

"You can be really hard to wake up. You must be tired."

Blaine, now awake, turned. "Wes. Oh. Hey."

"Hey there." Wes said, setting Blaine's textbook on their coffee table. "How long were you out for?"

"Dunno." Blaine said sleepily. "I fell asleep reading about laws of the 1800s or… something. What time is it?"

"Eight. I just got home." Wes answered, plopping on the couch by him. "You okay? You seemed a little off before you left for classes."

Blaine let his head fall against the back of the couch and nodded. "I guess."

"Let's go out tonight. There's a party a few houses down. It sounds promising."

Blaine moved so his back was to Wes, curling up to the back of the couch. "Nah."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to?" Blaine asked, nuzzling the arm rest.

"Because you would rather sit here and pine over Kurt you mean?" Wes asked.

Blaine huffed.

"This is the first night you're not knee deep in readings and homework." Wes said. "But you want to sleep on the couch?"

"Kurt's out with Finn picking out Rachel's wedding ring."

"Ouch. That'll crop up in your visit home this weekend." Wes remarked. "Speaking of, when are you going to pop the question?"

Blaine sat up and stared at him.

"What? It's been like eight years."

"It's been five years." Blaine corrected.

"Okay and my parents got married after two years."

"And look what they ended up with." Blaine grinned.

"Dick." Wes punched Blaine in the shoulder.

Blaine giggled a bit and then shrugged. "I don't know. I almost bought a ring once." He admitted. "But then I realized that it would be kind of silly to get engaged when we won't live together for so long."

"Why?" Wes asked curiously.

Blaine shrugged.

"I realize I've never been in a serious relationship before, bro, but my brain capacity is big enough for biochemistry. I think it can handle romantic talk and what have you."

"Look." Blaine took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I love Kurt more than anything. I didn't know it was possible to love someone as much as I love him. I'm happy to be here. This is amazing and it's everything I could have imagined. But I do still miss Kurt. Every day without him is harder than the one before it even if I am happy to be here. It's like there's something missing."

"But if you propose then he can just move to Boston after he graduates CCAD. Two years off. Big deal." Wes shrugged. "Get your year of unmarried life out of the way, marry him this summer, and he can be your housewife."

Blaine opened his eyes and then narrowed him. "Have you even _met_ Kurt?"

"Uhh once or twice." Wes joked, rolling his eyes. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Kurt would graduate CCAD and move here." Blaine said.

"You have spent three weeks talking about how much you miss his hugs and his smile and his eyes." Wes said. "You want him here. Why would that be a problem?"

"He's sad now because he misses me, the same as I'm sad because I miss him." Blaine said. "But if he doesn't go to Parsons he will regret it for the rest of his life. He needs to make it out of Ohio on his own, on his way to grad school for fashion design. He would never be happy—truly happy—if he came here and we just got hitched and he 'became my housewife.' Which by the way wouldn't happen. I do most of the cleaning because I'm too anal about things."

Wes looked at him and tried very hard to maintain a serious expression before giggling. "Anal."

Blaine giggled too. "You're so immature."

"You're giggling too." Wes pointed out. "I'm sorry. You know how it is for me when you use that word. I can't help it."

Blaine rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Alright, so… you know you want to marry him one day, right?"

"Well, yes." Blaine nodded.

"Why wait? Why not marry him now? That commitment is there but you can finish Harvard, he can go to Parsons, and you two can compromise on where to live when you're done. It works out well considering graduate school for him will be two years and Harvard is three because you'll graduate at the same time."

"No. You remember how he was talking about not going to Parsons at all because of our relationship. Now that he's on that track again, I don't want to throw a wrench in those gears. He's taking it harder than me. I want to be with him, don't get me wrong. But I don't want to give him an excuse to do something stupid. I know we'll be together forever but… I also want him to have the things he wants in life. I'm afraid that if I propose, he'll just move here after graduation."

"Would that be so bad? Really?" Wes asked.

"You don't know Kurt like I do." Blaine tucked his feet under him. "Those dreams are what makes him _him_. He wants to be a fashion designer so much. That's why I freaked out last year when he was babbling about giving it up. Just because we're in a committed relationship doesn't mean he should give up himself and lose sight of his dreams. I realize that right now he thinks he wants to be with me—and I'm not saying he doesn't want to be with me. What I'm saying is that I don't want that to block out other important things."

"I think you and he should run off and get hitched right now." Wes said, facial expression serious.

"Why?" Blaine snorted.

"Wedding cake."

"And here I thought you were having a real discussion." Blaine elbowed him.

"Really, though… What would be so wrong in Kurt not going to New York after CCAD?" Wes asked. "Isn't that a bit of an unrealistic goal anyway? How many big fashion designers are there? He can just find an office here and work for someone else. Or maybe work on a fashion magazine."

"It's not an unrealistic goal. Not for him. And I'm not standing in the way of that." Blaine sighed and stood up. "I've got to go to class. We're still on for dinner tonight, right?"

"Only a hot girl with a nice pair of jugs could keep me away." Wes winked.

"You're utterly repulsive and I feel deeply sorry for the poor girl who ends up dating you, or God forbid, _marrying_ you."

"I appreciate your honestly, oh Blainers buddy." Wes said, reaching as if to smack Blaine's butt.

"What have I told you? Only when we're drunk!" Blaine said, stepping out of his reach.

"Oh, right. Sorry. I keep forgetting." Wes shrugged.

"Mhmm. Sure." Blaine said, grabbing his book and putting it in his bag. "Burgers tonight. Don't forget!"

"Aye, aye, Captain Lawyer Pants!" Wes called as Blaine left the house.

…

Three hours later Blaine slumped into Wes' bedroom, throwing his bag on the floor and plopping on Wes' bed. "Weeees."

"It took you forever." Wes said, turning in his computer chair and looking at Blaine.

"I wanted to explore and got lost." Blaine pouted. "Oh so very _lost_. By the way, the GPS on my new iPhone sucks."

"Damnit, Blaine. I told you I wanted to go with you." Wes said, pouting himself. "So… remember you love me?"

"What did you do?" Blaine asked, sitting up.

"I invited Jacob to dinner with us." Wes said.

"Jacob?"

"George, Rodney, whatever his name is. Maybe we'll see him sign his credit slip and we'll know at last." Wes shrugged.

Blaine groaned, falling back onto the bed. "Wes, why? I keep telling you that he hates me. Why must you insist that I get to know him?"

"You're just paranoid." Wes rolled his eyes. "Nobody hates you."

"Should I go through the list? Dad, Mom, Grandmother, Asshole." Blaine held up four fingers. "He's clearly homophobic."

"Then why would he move in with us at all?"

"I was wearing a UK t-shirt and jeans that day. I easily could have passed for straight." Blaine sighed. "That and he must have crappy gaydar. I don't know. Do I pass for straight?"

"To someone blind maybe." Wes snorted. "Then again, I've only known you to be gay so I may be the wrong person to ask. Either way, though, I think you're just paranoid. He's maybe a little weirded out but if you two get to know each other, then it should be easier."

"I don't want to go." Blaine sighed again. "I hate awkward situations and I've been through enough in my lifetime already."

"C'mon. I'll buy you a beer." Wes said, leaning over in his chair and poking Blaine's side. "Or four."

"I don't want one beer or four beers."

"Ice cream? Lube for when you visit Kurt?" Wes wiggled an eyebrow.

"Lube is expensive now… I might take you up on that." Blaine teased.

"Isn't it… gross?" Wes asked curiously. "And… wet?"

"Oh my God." Blaine rolled onto his stomach and buried his face in Wes' pillow.

"Do you guys always use it?"

"I mean there have been a few times we've been out… but it kinda—er, really—hurts if you don't use it." Blaine said awkwardly. So much for trying to avoid one awkward situation. Apparently attempting to avoid one meant experiencing two back to back. This was something he'd keep in mind for next time.

"I'm sure you'd get used to it if you didn't a few times. And think of the friction."

"Please stop." Blaine whined.

"Why? Are you uncomfortable? Turned on at the thought of Kurt and friction?" Wes laughed. "So how does that work exactly? Do you just squirt the lu—."

"Wes, please!" Blaine threw Wes' pillow at his head. "Use Google if you have questions about gay sex. It's there and will not judge you. Trust me, I know that for a fact."

"Why would I ever ask an online search engine when my best friend has years of firsthand experience?"

"Because Kurt would murder me if I went into details about my fingers in his ass." Blaine said very bluntly. "It's personal, alright?"

"Okay. I understand that." Wes nodded very seriously and after a few minutes of silence, resumed his questioning. "So how often does Kurt top? The only ass we're talking about it yours now. I'm sure you won't mind sharing."

" _Oh my God_." Blaine blushed.

"I mean, half the time? You're the manly one, right? I assume he tops half or less. Unless— _oh my God, you're blushing even more_. Does he top the most now? When did _that_ happen _?_ "

"Can we please not talk about this?" Blaine asked, covering his face. "Kurt doesn't top the most, alright? I do."

"But he must top a lot if you're blushing so much. Which do you like better? What's it like, Blaine?"

"I am begging you, Wes. Please." Blaine whined. "Please. _Please_."

"Feel better now?" Wes laughed.

"What?"

"You were all stressed and mopey because you got lost." Wes said. "I was trying to take your mind off of it. Do you feel better?"

"Oh…" Blaine said, redness leaving his face slowly but surely. "Well, kinda. You didn't have to take it _quite_ so far, though."

"I'm just really curious. I keep trying to get you to let me watch or set up a camera but—why do you look like you're going to be sick?"

"The thought of you watching Kurt and I have sex is just weird, okay? That's a level of closeness I'm not quite ready for yet. Sorry if that makes me weird. Actually, no, I'm not."

Wes grinned. "Get ready to go. After we eat we'll ditch Jonathon and hit downtown. We haven't had the chance to explore yet and Boston is _calling_ to me… Wait. Kurt can't talk tonight, right?"

"Right. He's busy mapping out sketches for his fashion show. He'll be on campus until like eleven so he won't make it home until one probably. We talked on the phone a bit while I ate lunch." Blaine nodded. "I am completely free tonight and I would _love_ to go downtown again and try to find my way around. If we're going to live in Boston, we should at least do it right."

"There's the Blaine I know and love." Wes' grin grew as he pulled on a small jacket. "Let us find Jamie and go."

"No, really, though." Blaine whispered as they walked towards the door. "Do you really not know his name?"

"I can't remember it for the life of me." Wes whispered back.

"Do you think he knows?" Blaine asked.

"Nah." Wes shook his head and opened the door. "Burger time, gentleman!"

* * *

"Kurt, no, I am completely serious." Blaine said in a hushed voice after running to close his door. "I _knew_ it. Wes went to the bathroom and it was a complete turnaround. This _asshole douche fuck_ tells me that he never would have signed up to be my roommate if he'd known I was gay, that I'm going to hell, that I'm disgusting."

"Are you _joking_?" Kurt asked, his blue eyes turning dark with anger.

"I am beyond serious. And this morning he kept sending me these glares. When he was walking past me and was about an inch from knocking into me. On purpose, of course. And he's like ' _whoops.'_ " Blaine fumed. "Whoops my ass."

"Did you tell Wes?"

"Yeah. After dinner he and I went downtown alone.

"Did he tell the guy off?"

"No." Blaine said, becoming angry. "But the guy better watch his back because Wes will kick his ass. He's done it before and, as he said last night, he'll do it again. I knew it, though. I knew there was a reason he was acting the way he was but I don't understand what is _so wrong with being mother fucking gay_. Why does he or anybody care who I sleep with? As long as I'm not forcing myself on them, why do they care? And believe me, I wouldn't have sex with that dick if there was nobody else in the fucking galaxy."

"Blaine, calm down." Kurt said. "It's not worth getting upset over."

"No? I'm living with someone who is going to treat me the same way I was treated through middle school and freshman year of high school? I am not eleven, twelve, thirteen, or fourteen anymore. I am not afraid of that jerk, Kurt." Blaine said.

"Blaine… Blaine… Stop, calm down." Kurt repeated. "He's not worth it, alright? Who cares what he thinks? You're amazing. You're up there to go to the school of your dreams, to learn stuff, to have fun with Wes, and to learn the skills for you to get a job as a lawyer. Nothing else matters. That includes homophobic roommates."

"I may look tiny but I'm strong." Blaine continued. "Have you seen my arms, Kurt? And my legs are strong too from soccer. I could take that twig. I could take three of him."

"Deep breath in and deep breath out." Kurt instructed. He smiled when Blaine did as told. "Better?"

"Yeah, I guess." Blaine relaxed against his headboard, laptop on his lap. "It's just frustrating."

"You're not in Boston to deal with immature stuff like this. You're up there for very specific reasons and don't have time to dwell on someone who is clearly stuck in the middle school mentality." Kurt said.

"You're right."

"I'm always right." Kurt teased, giving Blaine a smirk. "Apart from that, how has your day been? Did you and Wes have a good night out on the town?"

"Yeah, it was fun. We found an awesome coffee shop that you'll have to see when you spend your long weekend here in October." Blaine said, mood lightening considerably. "The biscotti was amazing and they have the cookies we like to share."

"Sounds like I'd love it." Kurt laughed. "I miss our coffee dates."

"Next weekend, right? Next weekend I'm coming up." Blaine smiled. "I'm so excited to see you, Kurt. I have tons of pictures to show everyone too. And I got Burt the thing he asked for. I had to go to four tourist centered areas to find it, but I got it."

"That shirt? Oh, why would you get him that?" Kurt shook his head.

"I have to get on his good side, don't I? Can't let him forget he likes me since I'll be gone so long. I don't want to rebuild that trust." Blaine teased.

"Dad is going to die when he sees that you found one." Kurt mock sighed. "I wish I'd had a say in this.

"Yes well you didn't." Blaine let out an adorable giggle. "Okay. Are you excited for next weekend?"

"Of _course_ I am. Five days with you!" Kurt beamed at him through the screen. "I know we'll still have homework to work on and stuff but—I just— I get to sleep with you again. That's all I want. To lay in bed for five whole days in your arms."

"That works for me. Pillows don't cut it." Blaine said very seriously. "I'm almost considering making Wes sleep with me. At least until I fall asleep."

"That's so sad, Blaine." Kurt frowned. "It must be harder for you to fall asleep than me. I forgot you're a snuggle bunny and like to be next to things with heat."

"I will have five nights sleeping next to you. That will hold me off until October." Blaine reassured him. "I think I'll manage to survive a week without cuddling… but any longer than that and my limbs may start to fall off. I'll have Wes mail them to you for safe keeping."

"I love you so much." Kurt laughed at him. "I promise I'll take care of any Blaine limbs that show up. I'll have to hide them from Melody, though, or she'll try to give them to Kreacher and Oreo as snacks. She gives them _anything_ as snacks—well, tries to at least."

Blaine laughed, clearly much happier than he'd been when he'd first gotten on the Skype call. "I'm really excited to see everyone next weekend."

"Everyone is excited to see _you_." Kurt said. "Melody can't go an hour without mentioning it."

"Aww." Blaine cooed. "She's so cute."

"She loves you. You know everyone at her day care thinks she has three brothers because she talks about you so much? And she draws you in on family drawings at day care too."

"She does not." Blaine argued.

"Oh, she does. You'll love how she does your hair." Kurt giggled. "I'll show you on Friday night when you get here."

"I can't wait for next Friday." Blaine said again for what seemed like the millionth time that day. It was true, though. As much as he loved Boston—and he was slowly realizing he really loved the town—he still missed Kurt more. Not only Kurt, of course, but especially Kurt.

"Me neither." Kurt said. "We'll have to come up with a list of things we want to do so we don't forget anything in the excitement of _seeing_ each other. Cheesecake Factory is a must, okay? I'll even let you drive."

"Oh God, I've got to bring you some cheesecake, Kurt. It's so good."

"Alright. You bring that one and we'll still go, just a few days later."

"Will my visit be traumatizing enough for two cheesecakes?" Blaine teased.

"No, but you leaving might." Kurt teased right back and then looked behind him, gasping. "Look at you, little Miss Melody. What have you got on?"

"Dress!" Blaine heard Melody squeak although he could not see her.

"Your Easter dress." Kurt remarked, bending down and sitting Melody on his lap. "Look who it is!"

"Hey, pumpkin!" Blaine said, waving excitedly.

Melody clasped a hand over her eyes as her mouth fell open in shock.

"Are you happy?" Kurt giggled, hugging her as she gave a small nod.

"I'm happy to see you too!" Blaine said. "I hear you drew a pretty picture!"

"Momma and Daddy and Kurt and Finn and Blaine!" Melody said excitedly, clapping her hands together.

"And who else?" Kurt prompted.

"I 'unno." Melody giggled shyly.

"Doggie." Kurt whispered loud enough for Blaine to hear.

"And the doggie!" Melody chirped.

"And the kitty." Kurt whispered again.

"And the kitty!" Melody clapped her hands again. "Hi, Blaaaaaine!"

"Hello, baby." Blaine waved again. "Your dress is pretty."

"I know." Melody giggled and hopped down, yelling, "MOMMY! BLAINE! BLAINE! MOMMY! MOMMA!"

Both Kurt and Blaine laughed loudly when Carole poked her head in.

"He's on the computer. Come on in." Kurt said, scooting back in his chair.

Carole rushed over. "Look at you! How is school, hon?"

"It's going great." Blaine said. "I got a 102 on my last exam!"

"That's so good! I'm so proud of you!" Carole exclaimed. "Oh, I'm so happy for you, Blaine. Do you love it?"

"I do." Blaine said truthfully. "It's hard being away from everyone but almost everyone is really nice. Boston is beautiful. I haven't had much time to explore but Wes and I went downtown last night and it was really nice. I can't wait to see more of it."

"You've just been too busy, huh?" Burt asked, coming up behind Carole.

"Super busy." Blaine nodded. "A lot of reading, quizzes, essays. And we have to watch a certain amount of mock trials. Not all of them are required but some are and then we have to attend so many as an assignment."

"I bet those are fun." Burt said gruffly.

"They're alright." Blaine shrugged. "It's all been basic stuff so far… but maybe I'm just picking bad ones to attend."

Burt chuckled.

"Dad, he got a 102 on his last exam!" Kurt said.

"Did you really?" Burt asked. "Out of?"

"Out of 100." Blaine nodded. "I did. She really liked my reasoning, I guess."

"You're doing it right, kiddo. If you keep up that work you'll have ten job offers by time you're set to graduate." Burt said very seriously. "That's amazing, Blaine. Real amazing. Good job."

"Thanks." Blaine said, blushing a bit. "I miss you all."

"We miss you too, hon. All of us are counting down the days until Friday. We're very excited to see you." Carole smiled.

"I'm excited too." Blaine smiled. "I can't wait to get home and see everybody. I wish I could come _now_ and not wait until Friday."

"It'll be here soon enough." Burt said. "You just focus on school while you're there. Show all of those professors how good you are and I know you'll get a job. I'd bet money on it."

"A lot of the instructors do work in law firms." Blaine said thoughtfully.

"See?" Burt grinned. "He's in the right place to get where he wants. Next year Kurt will be in the same position, only in New York. I know it sucks being apart now, boys, but doors are going to start opening for you. You two work real hard and you'll get to where you want to be."

"Thanks, Dad." Kurt said.

"That's the plan." Blaine laughed and then looked down as his iPhone alarm clock went off. "Crap. I have to go to a study meeting."

"No, no. Don't be late." Carole said quickly. "We'll talk to you later, hon. Alright?"

"Alright." Blaine smiled and waved. "Bye, Carole. Bye, Burt."

Carole and Burt said their goodbyes and disappeared, leaving Kurt alone.

"Don't worry about your roommate." Kurt said quickly. "Focus on why you're there. Focus on the fact that Friday you'll be home. But don't let that stuff get to you, okay?"

"Alright." Blaine nodded, still smiling. "I'll call you later tonight, okay?"

"Okay. Have fun at your study group." Kurt smiled. "I love you so much, Blaine. I'll talk to you later."

"I love you too, Kurt." Blaine said, blowing him an adorable and over-exaggerated kiss which Kurt then pretended to catch. "Bye."

"Bye, babe." Kurt waved as Blaine turned off his laptop.

Who said long distance was hard?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some questions that showed up frequently in past reviews:  
> -Harvard is a 3 year program, Parsons is 2 years. This means Kurt and Blaine will graduate at the same time—not the same day, though, because I'm not that cruel!
> 
> -Kurt does live at home in Lima with Burt, Carole, and Melody at this point in the story. I have my reasoning for this, but if you don't like it that's alright. There is no way that Kurt could pay for their apartment on his own. Likewise, there is no way Kurt could pay for an apartment in Columbus on his own. To me, it only seems reasonable that Kurt live at home. It is roughly the same driving time as he is used to, so I don't see it as being too much for him to handle.
> 
> -Blaine's family will of course crop up again. Alex, especially, because he is trying to play a bigger role in his life and has been in the year and a half gap between WBUCT and LTC.


	4. Chapter 4

"I've got bad news."

"No." Kurt moaned, sitting in his computer chair. "No, Blaine."

"Yeah. There's a mock trial that was just set up and I have to go watch." Blaine cringed. "It's for one of my classes."

It had been three weeks. _Three weeks_ and they were so close to being able to see each other. At least, they _had_ been. It was looking like those plans were changing.

"Oh." Kurt said softly, biting his lip to stop himself from sighing. School came first. School had to come first. "That's alright. I understand."

"I'm still coming. I'll just be coming two days later." Blaine said, frowning. "Kurt, I'm so sorry…"

"That barely leaves us two and a half days." Kurt said. "Is there any point in you even coming?"

"Well if you don't _want_ me to come, then—."

"That's not what I said—."

"It sounded like—." Blaine took a deep breath. Why was he getting so defensive? Maybe he was more tired than he thought.

"I just meant that if you wanted to reschedule, then that would be fine." Kurt sighed. "Of course I want to see you, Blaine."

"I'm sorry. I think I just need a nap." Blaine sighed as well and rubbed his face. "I'm really sorry. I didn't plan to have to go to this, you know? I'm upset that our trip is being cut so short… What if you come here?"

"The only reason this worked out is you don't have Monday and Tuesday classes… I do. I can't miss class." Kurt sighed again. "I wish I could or I would."

"Right. Classes." Blaine let out a frustrated groan. "I knew that."

"Hey. Sunday instead of Friday night is okay." Kurt said, attempting to sound cheerful. "It's still time that we get to spend together. That is what's important, right?"

"I just wish I could see you Friday. Or now." Blaine frowned.

"Sunday is really soon too."

"Yeah. Yeah." Blaine nodded, not feeling convinced. "You're right."

"You look absolutely exhausted." Kurt said, watching Blaine through the screen.

"I had a late night." Blaine admitted.

"Go take a nap." Kurt said immediately. "I want you to get off of here, sleep for at least three hours, and call me when you wake up. Okay?"

"If I fall asleep I might not wake up." Blaine said very seriously, yawning.

"That's okay too." Kurt reassured him. "Go and get some sleep, alright? I'll be here to talk when you wake up."

"But I really wanted to talk to you." Blaine protested.

"About what?"

"To talk, to make sure you're not mad about me coming later, because I miss you… Just to hear you."

"Okay. You get off of here, call me, and I'll talk to you on the phone until you fall asleep." Kurt said. "Does that sound like a deal?"

"Can I still call you after I wake up?"

"Of course." Kurt smiled at him. "Are you going to call me now?"

"Mhmm." Blaine signed off and dialed Kurt's number.

"Hey." Kurt said.

"Mmhi." Blaine laid down.

"You won't last two minutes. I can hear it in your voice." Kurt laughed.

"I might." Blaine curled up comfortably, holding the phone. "I miss you, Kurt."

"I miss you too, sweetie. Sunday isn't that far away, right?"

"I guess." Blaine shrugged. "I'm gonna fall asleep now, mmkay?"

"Alright." Kurt laughed again. "I love you, Blaine."

"Mmhloveyoutoo." Blaine said before hanging up and falling asleep.

* * *

Kurt sat in one of the many studios at CCAD the next day, eating his lunch on his first break after having sketched for nearly three hours. LuckilyAlec was there too to keep him company, because it was much better chatting with Alec over lunch than any of the other students that were in various seats throughout the studio.

Kurt had confided in him about his and Blaine's discussion the night before. Even though he knew Blaine couldn't help postponing their trip, he was still sad—was the right word upset?—that he wouldn't be seeing Blaine as soon as planned and that the duration of the visit wouldn't be as long. Of course any Blaine was better than no Blaine, and maybe he was being a bit selfish in feeling that way, but he couldn't help it.

He found that the most logical thing to do would be to talk to Alec, who he knew was going through the same thing as he and had been going through it longer. Alec and Eric always seemed happy, so clearly Alec was doing something right. Kurt was willing to seek advice wherever he would find it.

"Cancelled plans are just something you have to get used to." Alec said once Kurt had finished relaying what exactly was going on while munching on some Sun Chips. "I know it sucks but it will get easier. Eric has to bail on me all the time."

"What do you do when that happens?" Kurt asked curiously.

"Sometimes we argue about it but it's pretty pointless most of the time, because if he can't make it… he can't make it." Alec shrugged. "Sometimes we just talk it through, make concrete plans for our next trip to see one another… Sometimes I just say 'okay' and then go out to a party that night or, you know, do nothing… There's no set thing I do, really. I just try to not let it bother me. I know he cares about me. I know that at the end of the week or month or semester that he'll be all mine again. He's worth the wait and so I wait."

"But do you ever… are you ever upset?"

"Oh yeah." Alec nodded. "If I haven't seen him in three weeks and we make big plans and he bails, I get pissed. That's usually when we fight. We fight when it's been a super long time and I'm _so_ excited to see him. That's a little different for you, though. Typically I'll see Eric on weekends or every other weekend. It seems like with you and Blaine, it's just a break thing. It all goes down to the same thing though. If he's worth the wait, you may not _like_ it, but you'll wait."

"You make it sound so easy." Kurt sighed.

Alec wadded up his chip bag and tossed it into a nearby trash can. "Sometimes it sucks, Kurt. I'm not going to lie. Sometimes I could just drive to him and be like 'That's it. Spend time with me or we're done.' Once I did that, actually."

"You did?"

"Last year, right at midterms. Then again I was freaking out about everything. I was overwhelmed and I just… I just wanted my boyfriend." Alec admitted.

"What did he do?"

"He asked me if I had lost my damn mind." Alec laughed. "And then he asked me if I was drunk. After it was established that neither had happened, we went out to dinner and talked. I felt better, I went home, and I went back to stay with him that weekend."

"What did you talk about?"

"The future. Buying a house after we're both done with school. Getting married."

"Having kids?" Kurt asked, smiling a bit.

"I don't… _We_ don't know if we want kids yet." Alec said. "That is something we're re-evaluating on when Eric turns thirty."

"So thinking and talking about the future helps?" Kurt asked, taking a deep breath.

"It helps us because that's what both of us are working towards." Alec nodded. "Doesn't mean that will help you. You and Blaine are different and have a different relationship. I've been with Eric since I was fourteen. We're at this point where we know when to back off, when to keep pushing… We've had so many fights. But you'll find out the limits for what you and Blaine can do when you're both frustrated."

Kurt nodded, trying to mentally take notes on everything.

"Neither of you _want_ to be separated. It's just necessary for the future. And Blaine doesn't want to bail on you, either. But school is important and expensive… so it has to come first." Alec said. "Just try to remember that."

"I mean, I knew plans would get cancelled eventually but I didn't think it would happen on our first visit." Kurt sighed and took a bite of his sandwich.

"Did you two argue about it?" Alec asked. "Is that why you're upset?"

"It's not _his_ fault. Of course not." Kurt said. "I'm not mad at him."

"Just be glad you didn't argue then. Eric is only a few hours away from me and we struggle sometimes… you and Blaine will have worse fights when they start. Trust me. You'll make each other cry, slam things, and throw things… But the thing is to work through the fights. Get it out of your system, apologize, and move on from that one. He loves you. It is painfully obvious any time I've seen him. Make effort and you'll be okay."

"We might not fight." Kurt said, but he unmistakably looked concerned.

"Not today maybe. But even if you two can handle the distance, there are going to be fights."

"But I don't want to fight with him. Today or any day." Kurt sighed.

"Fighting isn't necessarily bad."

Kurt gave him a look as he drank some of his tea.

"They're _not_. They really help with the tension." Alec continued. "Plus, you and Blaine are a really good couple. You and Blaine will be able to handle the fights."

"But what if we can't?" Kurt asked, looking down.

"If you want to stay with him, you'll be able to handle it." Alec reassured him. "Don't you two fight?"

"I mean… We bicker. But we've only had a few _fights_. And they are always blown way out of proportion and drag on really long." Kurt's eyes widened. "What if we can't get through the fights?"

"I was trying to make you feel better, not worse!" Alec said quickly. "I meant that it's a good thing you aren't fighting yet."

"Yet as in we still could." Kurt said, eyes big. "How is the fact that we have impending huge fights supposed to make me feel better?"

"Listen." Alec interrupted him. "You and Blaine support each other. It's what you do. With Eric and I, there are phases. We'll have two good months where everything goes as planned and we're… well, happy with being apart. Not that we don't want to see each other, but it's easier and stuff. But there are other times when we scream and yell and throw things at walls and say things we don't mean. But we get it out of our system and apologize, and then we move on. You two will go through phases too but as long as you continue to support each other, then you'll be _fine_."

"That doesn't make me feel much better." Kurt sighed.

"You'll be okay. It gets easier as it goes." Alec reassured him. "It's tough but next year you'll be a lot closer to him. Then it'll be even easier."

"Thanks." Kurt sighed a bit, although he still didn't feel a bit better. He had hoped Alec would tell him all about how easy it would be, how they wouldn't fight. After all, anytime he saw Eric and Alec they looked in love and positively happy. That was reassuring, but the arguments? Not reassuring at all.

"Can I say something? Is that allowed?" Alec asked.

"Of course." Kurt nodded, sitting up a little straighter.

"You're making this harder than it needs to be right now. This is only the beginning. It had been a year before I was as upset as you." Alec said very slowly. "If you keep up at this rate, Kurt, you're going to burn out."

"How am I supposed to not take it this way?"

"Go out and take your mind off of things?" Alec offered. "Let's go see a movie or something. Make sure to go out together once a week just so you have some free time, aside from school and your internship, to… have fun and not think about it."

"I find it hard to go out and have fun without him."

"So what did you do before you dated him?"

"I was in Glee Club."

"And did you all hang out outside of school?"

"They're all gone." Kurt said shortly.

"Do that stuff with me." Alec shrugged. "Just because you're dating someone doesn't mean you can't do anything without them, Kurt. Even if you're madly in love and plan to get married. You are your own person."

"I know that."

"Look. I have been dating Eric for seven years now—almost eight." Alec said. "I go to parties without him—as he so kindly let you know the first time you met him. I go see movies even if its one he wants to see. You can't just wait around for him to come back to live. You were independent when he was here, right? And before you dated him? So, get over it. Yeah, it sucks. But what you're doing right now—it's not gonna work. Sorry to tell you. You're going to burn yourself out and you're going to inadvertently cause your relationship with Blaine to crumble."

Kurt's eyes widened in horror.

"You'll either end up breaking up with him because you can't take it, he'll breakup with you because of what he's doing to you, or one of the two of you will give up school to be with the other… leading to a life of bottled hatred and angst and blah blah blah until you break up, get divorced, fight over custody of your children, and whatnot." Alec said very bluntly. "Sorry if I'm overstepping here but you're my friend and I don't want you to do any of the above to yourself."

Kurt nodded, eyes still big.

"When will he be getting here?" Alec asked.

"He'll be home by the time I get there. Dad's picking him up from the airport since I had to finish and submit the assignment here." Kurt said, unable to hide the smile that came to his face when he thought of how he would soon get to see Blaine. To _hug_ Blaine. At this point, that was all he wanted. Just a hug.

"I hope I didn't scare you." Alec said, grabbing his own sketchbook and pulling it back towards him.

"No, it's okay. I'd rather hear this stuff." Kurt said, pulling his own up and scooting closer to the table so he could finish his piece. "Thanks for being so honest with me."

"Anytime." Alec gave him a reassuring smile. "You and Blaine will be just fine. Now let's get done—or at least you get yours done—so you can get home to your man."

…

Blaine tapped his foot anxiously, going back and forth between looking out the window and looking into the kitchen where Melody was fast asleep on the floor with both Oreo and Kreacher curled up with her. Kurt had called and Blaine knew that he would be home soon, but with every minute he got more and more excited for Kurt to get home.

After five more agonizingly long minutes he heard Lady Gaga (unfortunately) and a car pulling into the driveway. Clearly Carole and Burt would not be listening to that—and he knew Burt wouldn't be home for hours still, because Burt had to go back to work after dropping he and the little one off—which could only mean one thing. Kurt was finally home.

With one last glance at Melody, who was still fast asleep, he ran outside and pulled Kurt's car door open before Kurt could even grab his messenger bag from the backseat. "Kurt!"

"Oh my God, I didn't see Dad's truck and thought—you're here! I didn't know if you all would have made it back, or if you'd stopped to eat—you're here!" Kurt scrambled to pull his seat belt off. "Blaine, Blaine, oh my _God_. I've missed you so much. You're here. Oh my God."

"I've missed you more!"

Kurt threw his arms around Blaine's neck, face breaking into an impossibly large smile. "You smell so good. You look so good. Oh my God, I missed you."

Blaine laughed loudly. "Should we go inside?"

"A few minutes." Kurt mumbled, clinging to him and kissing up and down his neck. "Mmh you taste good too. I love you so much, Blaine. And I've missed you."

"I love _you_." Blaine said, taking his turn to kiss everywhere on Kurt that he could reach.

"I just love you so much." Kurt repeated, tilting his head to give Blaine better access.

"You still taste good too." Blaine finally said, slowly pulling away.

"Two and a half days." Kurt said, somewhat breathlessly. _Blaine_ was there. Finally. After weeks of only having conversations via instant messenger, his boyfriend was right in front of him and wearing the most adorable smile Kurt had ever seen. "We have to make the best of it even if that just means cuddling while working on homework… apart from when I'm in class."

"Aww, you're _suggesting_ we cuddle." Blaine grinned.

"Of course I am." Kurt said. "Don't pretend you don't want to. I've never heard of another person who loves to snuggle as much as you."

"You know I want to. That's not even a question."

"Have you seen Miss Melody?" Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand, slowly leading him towards the house.

"Yes. Luckily she wore herself out an hour ago. She talks more than I remember." Blaine teased.

"I'm not the only one who is excited to see you." Kurt went into the house. "Did Dad talk your ear off?"

"Yeah but he had to go back to work, so it's been Melody and I since we made it home." Blaine said.

"Mmmh, so Dad and Carole aren't here?" Kurt said, tugging Blaine close to him after locking and closing the front door. "I can't believe you just left her inside alone. We're going to have to get you some babysitting classes before we have our own kids, Blaine Anderson."

Blaine's eyes widened in horror. "Are you serious? What can she do asleep?"

"You should know well enough by now that nearly half of the time, Melody is not really asleep when you believe she is." Kurt laughed.

Blaine peaked into the kitchen and then giggled, kissing Kurt before speaking. "Your little sister is still asleep under the kitchen table."

"And you'll still be taking classes even if she is." Kurt grinned and pushed Blaine back onto the couch. "However, it is a good thing we're in the living room."

"If someone walks in—"

"I daresay they will not be surprised." Kurt said, climbing on top of him.

"We cannot have sex on the couch."

"Who said anything about sex?" Kurt mumbled before kissing Blaine passionately.

"Mmmh!" Blaine slid his arms around Kurt's waist and tugged him closer, breathing noisily through his nose. "This is—your—missed—." He mumbled incoherently, attempting to pull Kurt even closer than he already was.

"What you _doooing_?" Melody suddenly giggled, running up.

"Oh God." Kurt said, clambering into a sitting position. "Sweetie, hi."

"K _uuuuurt_ , I'm hungry!"

"Okay, okay." Kurt got up and reached his hand down. "Come on, little one."

"Come _on_ , Blaine!" Melody squealed, waving him over with her tiny hand.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Blaine laughed and followed her and his boyfriend into the kitchen.

"Pick up your baby doll from under the table, Mellie." Kurt said, letting go of her hand. "Blaine, what do you want to eat?"

"Kurt, trike!" Melody demanded as she picked up her baby doll.

"Mommy said you can't ride your tricycle in the house." Kurt said in a firm voice. "It's rude to talk over people. Blaine was about to talk. Tell him that you're sorry for interrupting him."

"Sorry, Blaine." Melody pouted.

"I don't care what we eat." Blaine laughed, reaching and scooping her up.

"Blaine, trike!"

"I think Kurt's answer is what we're gonna have to go with, pumpkin." Blaine kissed her cheek.

"Outside trike?" She tilted her head.

"Maybe later, Melody." Kurt said as he made sandwiches.

"Why don't we look a picture book and make up stories?" Blaine asked excitedly.

"Okay!" Melody clapped.

"Go find one!" Blaine sat her down. "Only the very best!"

"EEE!" Melody squealed as she toddled off.

"She's so cute." Blaine laughed.

"She is but she's starting to get a little _bossy_." Kurt whispered.

"Bossy?" Blaine gasped. "I wonder where she got that."

"Carole believes it's a 'combination of me and Finn. Kurt scoffed. "Hand me that bag of-oh."

Blaine giggled, handing Kurt the bag of Barbeque Lays.

"Let's forget that happened, okay?" Kurt asked meekly as Melody stumbled over with a book.

"Blaine! Blaine! Read!"

"No, no, no!" Blaine sat her at the table and took a seat by her. "We're going to make up our _own_ story."

"What?" Melody tilted her head, clearly not understanding him.

"Alright. Her name is Lizzie." Blaine said, opening the book and point to a little blond girl.

"Nooooo." Melody giggled. "She's Clifford's friend!"

"Not this time. She's Lizzie. She's a... a..." Blaine said, looking thoughtful.

"HERO!"

"Alright! She's a super hero and this big dog is really-"

"Her Daddy!"

Kurt snorted loudly as he poured chips onto three plates.

"Right! The big red dog is her dad!" Blaine nodded. "What's his name?"

"Barnette." Melody said. "He's a girl!"

"Her daddy is a girl named Barnette. Got it." Blaine said, laughing. "And this spotted dog is-"

"The brother." Melody nodded.

"Great. Okay. So they're all walking down the street when there's a big flood!"

"What's that?" Melody tilted her head to the side.

"It's like a pool but _everywhere_." Blaine exclaimed.

"Uh oh! They need floodies?"

"Floaties." Kurt giggled as he put their plates on the table.

Melody giggled also. "More!"

"Okay, so superhero Lizzie uses her big Daddy Barnette who is a girl and she puts him in front of ALL the people so they don't get wet." Blaine said, skipping eight pages when Melody wasn't looking. After all, how the hell was he supposed to make a good story with what had been given to him?

"That's very smart." Kurt said as he sat down next to them.

"It is!" Melody chirped.

"And the brother goes and buys a really big bathtub stopper," Blaine continued before turning to the last page. "And then the water goes away. The End!"

"That story was so good that it took less than three minutes!" Kurt smirked.

"Must be the English major. I'm very good at summing things up." Blaine said, shooting him a 'Don't you dare' look.

"Cliff notes." Kurt sang.

"I'llwitholdbjs." Blaine coughed.

"Peanut jelly!" Melody cheered, clapping her hands.

"No peanut butter and jelly." Kurt said, sending Blaine a look and then whispering, "Everything. She repeats _everything_."

Blaine gave him a sheepish smile.

"Alright, Mellie. Let's get you in your seat and we can eat some lunch since you're _oh so_ hungry." Kurt said, scooping Melody up.

"I'm not hungry." Melody protested.

"But you said you were and I think your little tummy is grumbling." Kurt said sitting her down in her booster seat. "Show Blaine your booster seat! Tell him all about how we're sitting at the table now."

"I'muhbiggirl!" Melody cheered as Kurt strapped her in.

"You are a big girl." Kurt nodded. "And mommy is going to be oh so proud that we're going to have a stress free lunch with no toddler meltdowns, right?"

"Uh huh." Melody said, puffing her cheeks out. "I'muhbiggirl!"

"You sure are." Kurt scooted her plate up to her. "Mommy's going to be soooo happy!"

"Mommy happy!" Melody clapped and began eating the cut up pieces of her sandwich.

"She's not mastered a happy meal at the table quite yet." Kurt whispered to Blaine. "She's good for a few minutes."

"How often do you stay with her?" Blaine asked.

"Carole's picked up more hours because the cost of Mellie's daycare has gone up. So any time I get home and she's not already home with someone else, I go and pick her up." Kurt said, shrugging. "It's not that bad. After all, she's adorable." He reached over, ruffling Melody's hair. "We like to keep each other company, don't we, Mellie Boo?"

"I wanna see Daddy." Melody whined, dropping a piece of her sandwich. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy."

"And here we go." Kurt sighed.

"Daddddy!"

"Daddy will be home in an hour or two, sweetie." Kurt said calmly.

"Mommy?"

"Mommy will be home in—now. Oh, thank God." Kurt sighed in relief as the back door opened.

"Melody!" Carole gasped. "Look at you, you big girl! Kurt and Blaine got you all set up in your big girl seat!"

"I'muhbiggirl!" Melody said, waving.

"Did you hear that, Blaine? She's a _big girl_." Carole said, going over and hugging Blaine very tightly. "And look at _you_. How are you? We all miss you a l—."

"He's mine!" Melody whined, tugging Blaine's shirt sleeve. " _Blaaaaine_."

"Mommy was talking, hon. We don't interrupt people." Carole said in a firm voice. "Say you're sorry."

"Sorry, Mommy." Melody sighed.

Blaine laughed quietly, despite Carole's playful glare.

"Melody, did you have a nap?"

"Under the table again evidently." Kurt said, pointing to Blaine.

"She thinks she's the cat." Carole sighed. "Apparently Kurt thought he was a puppy when he was a toddler and now Melody thinks she is a cat. I have a feeling Burt is responsible for both but I can't figure out how."

"Hey, I had drugs as an excuse. Melody is just weird." Kurt teased.

"Daddy Burt." Melody chirped.

"Mommy talked to Daddy and guess what?" Carole asked excitedly.

"What?" Melody bounced in her seat.

"He's coming home early because Blaine's home!"

"EEEE!" Melody shrieked happily. "I love Daddy!"

"You're just a big Daddy's girl, aren't you?" Blaine laughed.

Melody nodded and clapped.

"You boys go and spend some time together before dinner." Carole said after hugging Blaine again. "We'll talk all about Harvard while we eat."

"Alright." Kurt said, grabbing his plate.

"Thanks for watching her, boys." Carole squeezed Kurt's shoulder before they headed upstairs.

"Do Burt and Carole not have enough for Melody's daycare?" Blaine whispered.

"They have enough but Dad's cutting shifts so the guys can get hours. They've got families too. Half the time he's there he's not on the clock." Kurt said shutting the bedroom door behind him.

"But…" Blaine began. "Do they need… I can get into my savings and pay back part of my tuition…"

"Dad told you that he doesn't want the money back and that if you _insisted_ on it, that he wanted small payments _after_ you're out of Harvard with a stable job." Kurt interrupted. "He won't let you give him anything. It's okay, really. Plus, he always gets a lot of extra business close to winter."

"I wish I could do something to help…" Blaine frowned.

"They're fine. We're fine, I mean. I promise. It's nothing that cannot be handled."

"And you have _time_ to babysit her?"

"I feed her and stick her in front of Bob The Builder. She's got a little crush on him." Kurt smiled reassuringly. "Plenty of time for me to do school work. She's less distracting than you and Kreacher."

"Where is the thing? And my cat?"

"Kreacher is probably still in his cage. Oreo is probably hiding under Melody's bed." Kurt said taking a bite of his food. "Your Harvard loans went through and everything, right?"

"Yeah." Blaine nodded.

"And you have enough money? Dad worries about it. I told him we've still got that one joint account and how we can see each other's accounts on the website so I know you've got money. He's still worried, though."

"I'm fine." Blaine nodded. "Alex's still sending money too. Burt doesn't need to worry."

"It's no use in telling him that." Kurt laughed and crawled onto the bed, opening his arms.

Blaine laid down, immediately getting into Kurt's open arms and snuggling close. "I missed this."

"Me too." Kurt kissed the top of Blaine's head and gave him a tight squeeze.

"I just want to lay here until Tuesday morning when I have to leave." Blaine said, rolling and pressing his back to Kurt's chest.

"That would be perfect but we both have homework to work on. Remember?" Kurt sighed a bit.

Blaine whined. "Alright. But apart from when we're doing homework, eating, and using the bathroom… we shall spoon. We'll alternate who is the bigger spoon, of course."

Kurt leaned over, pressing a kiss to Blaine's cheek. "I'm glad you came home for the weekend."

"Me too." Blaine turned his head and smiled at Kurt adorably. "I couldn't have lasted another day without seeing my gorgeous boyfriend whom I love and adore."

Kurt smiled happily. "I love and adore you too, you know?"

"I know." Blaine's smile grew and he relaxed against Kurt. "I know."

* * *

"Do you really read four hours a day?" Kurt asked the next day.

"We're supposed to read forty to sixty hours a week and then add studying onto that… apparently midterms and exams you basically don't even get to breathe." Blaine sighed. "I try to read a few hours in the morning and a few hours at night."

Kurt stared at him, eyes wide.

"The next two years are supposed to be a lot easier." Blaine said quickly. "And a lot of it right now is terminology and stuff. It's not that bad."

"Forty to sixty hours of reading plus studying isn't that bad?" Kurt echoed. "I guess I know why first year law students can't work. Do you sleep?"

"Yeah. Not as much as I used to." Blaine said. "I sleep between classes a lot. Wes and I take turns waking each other up when it's time for us to go. He's going out of his mind. He doesn't even have time to hit on girls that are out of his league."

Kurt snorted loudly as Blaine giggled. "Do you think he'll ever settle down?"

"No." Blaine laughed. "I don't think so. I don't think any girl would put up with him."

"That's true." Kurt laughed a bit.

"You have a lot of homework too though. You've been doing stuff the whole four hours I've been reading."

"It's just weird. I'm used to you not having to put a whole lot of time into stuff." Kurt admitted. "You're kind of hot when you're concentrating so hard."

"Oh, really?" Blaine smirked. "What if I got reading glasses?"

"I don't think I'd be able to handle the sexy." Kurt said, moving Blaine's book and climbing onto his lap.

"Mmh and this is why it's good I went away to school." Blaine teased as Kurt leaned down to kiss him. "Neither of us would get anything done because of my sexiness."

Kurt laughed loudly and wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck. "That's the silver lining you're choosing to go with? Not 'it's for our future' but 'I'm so sexy we'd both drop out?'"

"Don't deny it." Blaine teased. "You're pretty damn sexy too. It might end up _your_ fault. We're a danger to each other's careers, Kurt."

"Mmmh I'm fine with that." Kurt kissed Blaine eagerly.

"Are—mmh!"

"Quiet time now." Kurt mumbled into his lips, letting his hand slide down Blaine's side. "Shh."

* * *

"You seem quiet." Kurt said late Monday night, sitting across from Blaine at the kitchen table. He nudged Blaine's foot with his own.

"I feel like half of the visit was spent on homework and now I have to go home tomorrow." Blaine admitted. "These two days have been so good but I have to go back to Harvard without you… and I feel like it's going to be even harder now that I've seen you."

"I know what you mean." Kurt sighed, reaching his hand out across the table.

Blaine reached his hand as well, lacing fingers with Kurt. "I know… I miss you a lot. I know I have to cancel Skype dates and stuff but I really do miss you… I really hope you know that. I'd _much_ rather be talking to you than doing homework or studying."

"But you like watching the mock trials more." Kurt teased.

"No. I don't." Blaine protested. "But I do love them. They're really interesting. Sometimes I see it more as fun than school work even."

"You're definitely in the right field of work then." Kurt squeezed his hand.

"You are going to go to Parsons now, right?" Blaine asked.

I _think_ so." Kurt nodded. "I've been talking to Andrew, the guy that I intern for. He's not big himself but he knows a lot of big people. He says there is really no other grad school to go to if I want to make it… and he said he thinks I can."

"Wait, what? Who is Andrew? Does he own a company or just work in one?"

"Oh! I accepted an internship! I meant to tell you in person, but I was so excited that you're here that I forgot!" Kurt said. "Alright. His name is Andrew Blevins. He works for a company called United Designs."

"That's awesome! How long are you doing it?"

"The entire semester. I go in one day a week for about 7 hours. It's not intensive or anything at all. I do mail runs, basic stuff nobody else wants to do. When there isn't anything stupid for me to do, Andrew shows me the ropes of the office, shows me his designs and stuff, talks about the process more in depth." Kurt explained. "It's kind of different from how they explain it in school, but that makes sense."

"Wow." Blaine said, smiling. "Do you like it?"

"Oh, yeah. They're all really, really nice." Kurt nodded.

"But… you're picking Mellie up all of those days?" Blaine questioned.

"I pick her up four days a week. Dad gets her the other day and takes her to the garage until Carole or I can get here—but Carole usually gets off and to the garage before me." Kurt shrugged.

"And you're… okay getting school work done?"

"I have some days I get out of school early. I'm doing okay. Work is getting done." Kurt gave him a smile. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"Now about that Andrew guy saying he thinks you can make it… I've been telling you that for _years_. But I guess you take the word of a 'professional' over your boyfriend." Blaine teased, squeezing Kurt's hand that was still linked with his own. "You must not trust my judgment."

"I did until you went to UK and started wearing t shirts all the time… but you've dressed very nicely on this little visit, so my faith is slowly being restored." Kurt giggled.

"I could try some more things on for you." Blaine stood and leaned over, still holding hands with Kurt.

"Is that so?" Kurt asked interestedly, leaning over as well and kissing him.

"We _do_ have the house to ourselves." Blaine grinned.

"And it could be Thanksgiving before I see you again after this if Halloween weekend gets cancelled…" Kurt said thoughtfully.

"And your legs are looking especially nice in those pants."

"Well I have to remind you why you should come back again, don't I?" Kurt gave him an impish smile.

"Oh I don't need reminding about anything when it comes to your body, Kurt." Blaine smirked right back.

"Well I certainly hope you wouldn't come all the way to Ohio for a booty call, I guess." Kurt joked and kissed him again. "You know… you may have actually gotten shorter."

Blaine dropped his hand and sat back down in his chair, letting out a loud and adorable whine.

* * *

"Wake up."

"Mmmh." Blaine burrowed under the covers, rolling onto his stomach and nuzzling his pillow.

"Blaine, babe…" Kurt whispered, leaning over the side of the bed and kissing Blaine's cheek. "Wake up."

"Mmmhno. 'S early." Blaine moaned.

"I know it is." Kurt whispered, fingers running through his hair. "But we're going to get breakfast and coffee."

"Hmm." Blaine smiled, rolling onto his back.

"Yeah." Kurt moved his fingers to stroke Blaine's face. "We can make a long trip out of it and go to the airport from there."

Blaine's smile faded a bit. "Oh. That's today."

Kurt leaned down, pressing his lips against Blaine's.

"I've got morning breath." Blaine moaned, turning his head.

"I don't care." Kurt leaned over more to recapture Blaine's lips. "I love how you look when you're first waking up."

"Sleepy and disoriented?" Blaine laughed, sitting up.

"Messy haired." Kurt corrected.

"You're already dressed." Blaine said, looking Kurt up and down.

"You like?"

"Always." Blaine said, tugging Kurt onto the bed and kissing him.

"Only a few minutes." Kurt gasped out, fingers tangling in Blaine's hair.

"MOMMA MOMMA MOMMA MOMMA!" Melody shrieked from outside of their bedroom.

"Wha—."

"They're just getting Mellie ready for daycare." Kurt murmured in his ear, kissing his cheek.

There was a bang on the door and then, "Melody! Kurt and Blaine are sleeping. Don't wake them up."

"KURTTTTTT!" Melody whined.

"Kurt's asleep." Carole repeated.

"Should we let her in?"

"No. Carole knows I'm up." Kurt shook his head. "If she sees me, she won't get ready for school."

"That's cute." Blaine smiled, snuggling up to him.

"I guess." Kurt laughed. "Hurry and get dressed so we can sneak out, okay? I want to have plenty of time with you."

"Okay." Blaine's smile grew and he crawled out of bed in search of some clothes to change into.

Twenty minutes later they found themselves in a small coffee shop near the Lima airport, coffee and blueberry muffins in front of them.

"I really wish I could stay longer." Blaine said after swallowing a bite of his food and nudging his foot against Kurt's.

"So how is all of that stuff with your roommate going?" Kurt asked before taking a sip of his coffee.

Blaine rolled his eyes, looking annoyed. "I'm trying to just avoid him right now."

"Does that mean he's still being a jerk?" Kurt sighed.

"He hasn't said anything but I think that's because he's afraid Wes will kick his ass." Blaine shrugged. "He gives me looks every time I walk by him. It's frustrating."

"Are you going to say anything to him?"

"Not until he says something to me. But once he does…" Blaine trailed off, shaking his head. "I don't want to talk about that, though."

"Alright." Kurt reached over and laced their fingers together. "I know it may seem a bit early, but I can't wait until Halloween weekend."

"So you're going to come when?"

"It's our break. We have Thursday and Friday off. I'm going to come Wednesday night." Kurt grinned.

"That's great." Blaine grinned back. "I can show you around and stuff. And we won't have to worry about your Dad hearing us."

"Oh, really?" Kurt's grin turned into a mischievous smirk.

"Really." Blaine laughed.

"If that isn't another excuse to look forward to it, then I don't know what is." Kurt said.

"I don't know about you but I'm already looking forward to winter break. We'll get like an entire month." Blaine said. "I was thinking maybe we could spend Christmas here and then you spend the rest of the break in Boston with me. The other roommate will be gone the whole break."

"That's definitely an idea." Kurt said thoughtfully, finishing up his breakfast. "Are you done?"

Blaine ate the last bite of his muffin and then nodded. "Yes… Does that mean it's time for the airport?"

Kurt sighed, also nodding. "We better. You're supposed to be there early in case."

"I'm going to miss you." Blaine stood, holding out his hand for Kurt to take.

Kurt threw his arms around Blaine, hugging him tightly right in the middle of the cafe. "I love you."

"I love you too. More than you could even understand." Blaine mumbled into his shoulder, trying to find it in him to move from that spot so they could get into the car and head to the airport.

"Twenty-eight days." Kurt whispered. "Twenty-eight days and we'll have four or five days ahead of us."

"I'm sick of counting days." Blaine sighed.

"It's all that we've got for right now."


	5. Chapter 5

"I think we should go to the pizza place again."

"I'm sick of pizza. I want pasta."

"No. What about Chinese?"

"Nah. I had General Tsos for breakfast—don't judge me, Wes."

"General Tsos for breakfast? Really? What would Kurt say?" Wes teased, nudging Blaine before pulling on his sweater.

"Believe it or not—and I'm still not sure I believe it myself—Kurt has been eating a lot more fast food himself. Therefore he has absolutely no room to talk." Blaine said cheerfully, grabbing his wallet.

"I still can't believe what he said to Asshole." Wes giggled immaturely. "You know, he may be my favorite person alive for that."

"Oh, Burt took him shopping after that one… _Open sesame_! Look at that, I'm magic!" Blaine kicked the door open and raised his eyebrow at Wes.

"How in the hell did we get into Harvard, Blaine?" Wes asked as he pulled the door shut behind him.

"I have _no_ idea. I'm still waiting for them to kick me out." Blaine admitted, waving at one of their neighbors. "We should walk so I don't feel guilty about the ice cream I'm going to get."

"Or you could just get fat. You know, find out if Kurt loves you for you or for your body." Wes grinned. "Although I think he likes you for your manbits considering you two had sex more than you _didn't_ when he was here two weekends ago."

"I have other attributes that he loves. My hair, for instance." Blaine said, dragging Wes down the driveway and away from their cars (ignoring Wes' whimpers and longing looks). "And my personality. _He_ likes to listen to me talk."

"He likes to watch your mouth move." Wes snorted. "Because he likes his junk in it."

Blaine punched him in the arm hard. "We have a relationship built on love, not physical attraction."

"Well all I'm saying is I'm surprised one of you could walk— or both, if you took turns. Did you take turns?"

"I'm not discussing this anymore." Blaine shook his head, blushing a bit. "Especially not in public—and _most_ especially not with you. By the way, who did you sneak in last night? She had a very annoying voice and she kept calling you Craig."

"I don't care what she calls me if it means she'll blow me that way again… and I don't know her name, so I couldn't tell you who she is."

" _Wes_!" Blaine said. "Were you at least safe?"

"That's not here nor there." Wes shrugged, smirking.

"You're so gross." Blaine shook his head.

"It's too bad you're gay. So many girls are willing to sleep with me just because I go to Harvard." Wes stood a bit taller.

"You're using the college you attend to get girls in your bed." Blaine shook his head again.

"Hey, dude. If you weren't 'in a committed relationship,' you'd be getting some too. See that guy in the green? He's totally checking you out."

"No he isn—oh my God, he is. What does he do to get his arms like that?" Blaine asked, turning back and looking at a buff guy who was looking right at him—or rather, his ass, Blaine figured. "Oh my God, he's still looking. I feel dirty, Wes."

"You wouldn't have done anything with him even if you weren't dating Kurt."

"Stop talking about me having sex with other people! I feel like I need to call Kurt."

"And tell him what? That some guy with arms twice the size of your entire body checked you out?" Wes laughed loudly. "Can you imagine how many guys probably check _him_ out?"

"Wait, what'd you just say?" Blaine, who had just texted Kurt, looked up with dark eyes.

Wes laughed again. "I said that people probably check out your boyfriend—What are you doing?"

"I'm texting Kurt to ask him if people hit on him." Blaine responded without looking up from his phone.

Wes grabbed his phone and pocketed it, pulling Blaine into a restaurant.

"But I wanted pasta." Blaine protested as Wes pushed him into a booth. "You treat me so badly."

"That's why you don't date me." Wes grinned, grabbing two menus off of another empty table.

"I don't date you because you're repulsive." Blaine gave him a sweet smile. "I wonder if people think I'm your boyfriend."

Wes slid an arm around Blaine's shoulders, but pulled back quickly when Blaine elbowed him. "Fine, fine, fine!"

"That's right." Blaine said, opening his menu.

"If you wanted to be the guy, you could have just said." Wes joked.

"I don't know why I put up with this." Blaine sighed and shook his head, but he was smiling.

"Because you missed me when I was in Californ-eye-aye." Wes grinned and winked as a pretty waitress walked by.

"God, Wes! I'm right here! Why do you treat me this way?" Blaine exclaimed, screwing his face up.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Wes called after the girl, kicking Blaine under the table.

"Did the last five years of our lives mean _nothing_ to you? Do I mean nothing to you? We had plans, Wesley! The gay purple box car! Twenty five foster kids! Five cats with only three legs!" Blaine cried, making tears well up in his eyes.

"He's had a lot to drink!" Wes said. "I'm straight, I promise! He's my gay best friend!"

"You should be ashamed! Your boyfriend is gorgeous! Learn some respect!" The waitress snapped, sending Wes a death glare.

"T-Thank you!" Blaine whimpered. "That's the most kindness I've had in five years!"

"I'm never taking you out in public ever again." Wes muttered under his breath.

"Do you really think that people check out Kurt?"

Wes blinked at him. "I think people probably _hit_ on him."

Blaine's mouth fell open. "He has a boyfriend! That boyfriend is _me_!"

Wes shook his head. "I figured you would have grown out of the jealousy thing."

"Yes well people can't just go objectifying him and staring at his ass and legs and arms, alright? He's more than just his body." Blaine scoffed, taking a drink of his Dr. Pepper which the waitress had brought. "I mean yes. He's got an amazing body. But he's also smart and talented and dedicated to—."

" _Blah blah blah_." Wes said, miming a talking mouth with his hand. "I hate to break it to you, Blainers, but you spend a great deal of time objectifying him yourself."

"I don't _objectify_ him. It's perfectly acceptable for me to stare at his body because he's my boyfriend. We put up with each other's quirks and defects; therefore we can stare at one another's bodies. It's basically an unwritten rule in any relationship." Blaine said, looking highly offended.

"If you weren't gay and sensitive, you'd be saying, 'Of course I stare at his ass. It's my ass. Wes sighed. "This is why I wish David was here too. I'm afraid you're going to rub off on me."

Blaine laughed loudly. "Sorry, Wes. But even I can't turn you into a gentleman or anything resembling one."

Wes just grinned at him and then winked at some girl across the restaurant.

"I will start to cry." Blaine promised. "I watched a really sad movie last night and I'll do it, Wesley."

"What is the point of living in a town with hot girls if you can't get in their pants?" Wes threw his hands in the air.

"You. Have. A. Problem." Blaine said slowly. "Keep Little Wes in your little boxers."

"Little Wes is not _little_." Wes huffed. "I'll show you just how little he is when we get home."

The blond girl, who had come over to give Wes her number, made a disgusted noise and marched back off to her table.

" _Blaine_!" Wes hissed, punching Blaine.

Blaine snorted loudly and then clasped both of his hands over his nose and mouth, trying to stifle his loud laughter. "T-T-That one was all you, _Big Wes_."

"Just for that, I'm not giving you your phone back."

"Agggh." Blaine ducked his head. "But I need to call Kurt. He can't talk tomorrow morning and I can't talk tomorrow night."

"That sounds like a personal problem." Wes grinned.

"Fine, fine. There's a hot girl. Go get her number. But if you get back and your food has come and gone, you have no one to blame but yourself." Blaine sighed, waving his hand. "Goodbye, Wes."

"Really?"

"Sure." Blaine shrugged. "But give me my phone so I can call Kurt while you're trying to get lucky."

"Fine. _I love you."_ Wes tossed Blaine's phone at him as he eagerly stood.

"What would our friendship be without homosexual moments?" Blaine shook his head, unlocking his phone and scrolling down to find Kurt's phone number.

"Hello?" Kurt asked after the third ring.

"Hey!" Blaine said excitedly.

"Hey, babe!" Kurt said, sounding just as excited. "How was your meeting last night?"

"Long and boring." Blaine responded, watching Wes wink at a big breasted blond girl and making her giggle immaturely. There was no way she was as old as they were. No way. "How was your not-date with Alec?"

"Short lived." Kurt sighed a bit. "He was in a bad mood. Apparently he pissed Eric off or something. He ended up leaving early because he was too preoccupied. I did run into Sarah, the girl from the internship though.

"Aw, you're making friends." Blaine said, smiling. "I bet you don't even miss me anymore."

"Now _that_ is absurd." Kurt scoffed. "I miss you very, very much."

"Nah. I think you're replacing me with Alec and your new intern buddies." Blaine teased. "What are you up to?"

"I am currently watching Melody dance to some kiddy show with very scary looking characters on it. I'm pretty sure they're _really_ singing about s-e-x even though it's supposedly a song about happy snack time." Kurt snorted. "What are you doing?"

"Watching Wes try to make his own happy snack time." Blaine said, wishing David was there so he could high-five that genius response. Which wasn't a genius response, but tiredness could do that to a person.

"In other words you two are eating out and he's abandoned you again?"

"You know me so well." Blaine laughed and then sat up straight after taking a sip of his drink. "Hey, Kurt, do people hit on you?"

"What?" Kurt asked, sounding confused.

"Do people hit on you?" Blaine repeated.

"This one guy actually did last night. I told him my boyfriend was far more interesting, attractive, and better smelling though." Kurt responded and Blaine could see him rolling his eyes. "He smelled

"Okay do people check out at your ass?"

"I don't generally look at my b-u-t-t to know." Kurt laughed. "What's all of this about?"

"Well this guy was checking out my ass and I said I felt dirty and wanted to call you and then Wesley pointed out that people check you out and clearly he was right." Blaine said quickly, feeling agitated. Someone had hit on Kurt last night? Kurt was beyond gorgeous. Kurt had a promise ring. They should have just assumed Kurt was taken.

Kurt laughed loudly. "People check you out _all_ the time, Blaine. Even when I'm there. You're just oblivious when it comes to things like that."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"People can look all they want, but you're mine. I trust you. He—Mellie, sweetie, no."

" _But Daddy lets me_!" Blaine heard Melody whine.

"Do I look like Finn?" Kurt questioned, making Blaine snort.

"Mommy _and_ Daddy let me."

"Really? Mommy and Daddy let you try to climb on the entertainment center?" Kurt asked. "I don't think so, child."

"But they _do_!"

"Blaine, hold on." Kurt sighed before setting the phone down. Blaine heard several loud whines before the phone rustled and Kurt was speaking to him again. "I'm rethinking the child aspect the more time I spend with her. Forget terrible twos. This is way worse than when she was two."

Blaine laughed. "She's precious."

"Yeah. I thought that until I lived with her." Kurt muttered. "No, no. She's still precious. But now I see the rotten sides too. Oh god, Blaine, you should have heard the absolute fit she had yesterday. It was terrible."

"Uh oh." Blaine laughed.

"Melody—Melli—."

"HI, BLAINE!" Melody shrieked very suddenly.

Blaine held his phone out, wincing.

"Melody! You can't yell into a phone! You'll hurt his ears."

"Sorry, Blaine!" Melody exclaimed, much quieter this time around.

"It's okay, pumpkin. How are you?"

"Kurt's no fun!" Melody whined.

"Sweetheart, you can't climb on furniture. You'll get hurt." Blaine said, feeling like the biggest hypocrite ever. How many pieces of furniture had he climbed on? Granted, he hadn't since he'd broken his and Kurt's table but he didn't need to think about that now.

"Blaine's no fun too!" Melody hmphed.

"She's displeased." Kurt laughed. "She just slumped off."

"I'm a hypocrite. I told her that climbing on furniture was dangerous."

Kurt laughed even louder this time. "Our kitchen table can attest to that hypocrisy, can't it?"

Blaine giggled. "Do you need to go? If not, I'd love to hear about the internship."

" _I met Marc Jacobs_. He was on campus for something, Blaine. Some seminar maybe. And I _met him_!" Kurt suddenly gasped. "It was amazing. He was amazing. His car was amazing, his clothes were amazing, his smile was amazing."

"Are you in love?" Blaine snorted, trying not to feel jealous at how Kurt was gushing over someone famous while he was currently hours away.

"No. Yes. Maybe." Kurt sighed dreamily. "I want that life. To have my name out there, to give speeches at seminars at schools like mine, to have those nice things… He's living my dream."

"You'll be living your dream soon." Blaine promised him.

"You and me both." Kurt said cheerfully. "I wish we could fast forward to that point in our lives. Married, with the perfect job and the perfect house. And eventually perfect adorable daughters, four years apart. The oldest of which is named Sophie."

"That's a pretty name." Blaine said thoughtfully. "What will her last name be? What will _our_ last named be? Anderson-Hummel? Hummel-Anderson? Do we just keep our names and hyphen theirs?"

"Are we really putting serious thought into this right this second?" Kurt asked. "I like Anderson-Hummel better."

"I like Anderson-Hummel better too. It has a nice ring to it."

"Oh. My. God." Wes said, sliding into his seat. "You two are not discussing last names now. You're not even engaged!" he then added, slightly louder, "Hello, Kurtsie."

"His name is not Kurtsie." Blaine sighed, shaking his head.

Wes grabbed the cellphone from him. "I hear you've been going out without Blainers, Kurtsie. I hope you're fending off any unwanted advances from men. Also, any wanted advances—and if they are wanted, I'll murder you in your sleep. But that's nothing compared to what David will do to you."

"Wes!" Blaine yelped.

"Hello to you too, Wesley." Kurt said coolly. "While I've got you on the phone, you can stop putting ideas in Blaine's head about people checking me out. That's the last thing he needs to worry about because there is no one else for me."

Wes wiped a fake tear from his eye, sniffling. "If only I could have a love as true as yours."

"My God, Wes. I hate you." Blaine took his phone back. "It's me again. Sorry for the nitwit."

"Hey, babe, I've got to go." Kurt said.

"Damnit Wes, you scared him off!" Blaine pouted. "Alright. Well I can't talk later tonight because I've got to prepare for my mock trial tomorrow but I'll talk to you the day after tomorrow?"

"Yeah. It'll have to be later, though, if that's okay. They've been keeping me at the internship later. Now that there are more of us on the same day, they want everything done." Kurt sighed a bit. "But we can definitely talk tomorrow night. I'll text you when I get out. We can either talk on the phone when I drive or when I get home."

"Okay. I love you, alright?"

"I love you too." Kurt said cheerfully, and Blaine could just _see_ the smile behind the voice. "Bye, Blaine. Good luck tomorrow although you don't even need it since you've excelled at everything so far."

Blaine laughed and said, "Thanks, Kurt. Bye." before hanging up.

"You two are sickening. I think I need to go to the dentist for all the cavities you just gave me." Wes muttered.

"Shut up." Blaine said, grabbing a piece of pizza. "I don't like you anymore."

Wes grinned. "I love you too, Blainers."

* * *

Kurt was probably late calling Blaine. Not that they had a set time to call each other, but they'd agreed to talk on the phone and it was now 10:30. In his defense, he had not _planned_ to have to drive up to CCAD to work on his sketches for his line that would be in the senior fashion show. Was it his fault Melody had thrown multiple fits because Kurt was home, yet Finn was babysitting her? No. Was it his fault that once he'd gotten to CCAD he'd spent more time chatting with Alec and Derek, a guy he interned with, than sketching? Yes. Was it also his fault that they'd all gone out for Chinese after because they were hungry? He _could_ blame it on the fact that he was human… But that was still really his fault too.

He jumped into his Navigator and started it after saying goodbye to his friends. After three weeks of moping, and one metaphorical slap to the face from his father, that was really what he'd been doing. Babysitting Melody when he was home, working on preparing for the fashion show interning with Derek and a younger girl named Emily, and hanging out with his friends—usually Alec, but occasionally Derek or Emily.

Of course he still talked to Blaine. They had been really good about talking once a day at least, but usually weekends they were either on Skype or on the phone more often than not—when they weren't doing homework, that is.

Kurt fumbled for his phone and dialed Blaine's number.

"Hello?" Blaine asked after several rings.

"Hey, sorry I'm calling so late. I ended up going to Columbus to work on my stuff because Melody kept throwing fits and Alec and Derek were there so we got Chinese after." Kurt said into the phone as he pulled onto the highway.

"It's whatever." Blaine mumbled, and Kurt heard rustling.

"Oh no. What's wrong? I hope you aren't mad that I'm calling so late." Kurt said, biting his lip.

"It's not about you."

"Well what is it?" Kurt questioned.

"It's nothing." Blaine sighed loudly. "It's nothing. How was dinner? Who were you with?"

"Dinner was alright." Kurt said, turning on the speaker phone. "It was me, Alec, and Derek. He's the guy I intern with. I think he goes to Kent, though, but I'm not sure."

"Wonderful. I'm here in Boston having the worst day I've had in months and you—you're out having dinner with not one gay guy but two. Great." Blaine huffed.

"They're _friends_ , Blaine. You know that." Kurt said, his voice firm. "I'm trying to make more friends and be out more. I don't have my adorable boyfriend in town to hang out with anymore."

"I can understand that." Blaine said, not sounding any happier.

"Hold on a minute." Kurt frowned. "Why did you have a bad day? What happened? Was it your roommate?"

"No." Blaine sighed.

"Blaine, what's wrong?" Kurt asked again. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Happened."

"That's not the truth."

"Well I don't want to talk about it, alright?" Blaine snapped.

Kurt blinked several times.

"I'm sorry." Blaine said, voice much softer. "I just… It wasn't a great day, alright?"

"I'm sorry that you had a bad day." Kurt said gently. "I'm here if you want to talk about it."

"No. I'd really like to just forget about it if that's alright." Blaine sighed. "How was the internship, and the dinner and stuff?"

"It was alright. They had us putting together 2,000 mailers for some big seminar type thing." Kurt said, biting his lip. "Dinner was fine. It was just getting Chinese really fast because we were all starving. I'm on my way home now."

"It's really late… I hope you're careful when you're out late."

"I'll be fine. I'm always careful. Kurt said, making sure he kept his voice gentle. He knew Blaine was thinking back to the attack that landed Kurt in the hospital for weeks and out of school for months. He had resigned himself to the fact that it would always be like this—Blaine concerned if Kurt was out late without him or someone else. And to be honest, Kurt couldn't blame him.

"I know… I just don't like you putting yourself in the position for anything to happen." Blaine said. He didn't sound snappy anymore, but Kurt could still tell something was wrong.

"I'm in my car. Driving. I'm not in the position for anything to happen. And I'm not making any stops until I am parked in the garage at home." Kurt reassured him. "I promise."

"Alright." Blaine said, although he didn't sound very reassured. "Look, I have to get off of here and study. Can I talk to you tomorrow or something?"

"Of course." Kurt said instantly. "I love you, Blaine… I hope you feel better. Whatever is wrong… it'll work itself out. I promise."

"Thanks, Kurt." Blaine said, and Kurt smiled a bit when he could physically _hear_ the smile on Blaine's face. "I love you too. So much."

"We'll talk tomorrow, babe. Don't study too much. Make sure you get some sleep."

"Oh, how the tables have turned." Blaine said, laughing a little. "Good night, Kurt. Text me when you make it home so I'll know you got in safe."

"Alright, Dad." Kurt teased. "Bye."

"Bye." Blaine said and waited a few seconds before disconnecting the call.

Kurt pulled up Wes' number and tapped out a short text before putting his phone away. When he made it home he pulled out his phone to text Blaine and saw his text to Wes and Wes' response.

_Check on Blaine. He's upset and won't talk to me._

**On it, bro.**

* * *

_Did Blaine ever tell you what was wrong?_

**Nope. He's just being mopey and annoying. Call him on Skype and have some cybersex or something, will you? He's pulled out the… Don't even make me say it.**

_What has he pulled out?_

**Pink. He keeps listening to Pink songs. Not just depressing ones. He's alternating between depressing ones and angry ones. For such a bright color, Pink sure is hostile.**

Kurt sighed and dialed Blaine's phone number. It was now two days after his and Blaine's phone call, the day they were both able to talk, and he hadn't heard from Blaine. At least that was the case unless you counted one word texts, which was very out of character for Blaine. At first Kurt had tried to rack his brains, making sure he'd done nothing to upset Blaine. After realizing that no, it must have been something else… Well, he was beginning to get a little frustrated.

What _was_ it?

Why wouldn't Blaine _talk_ to him?

If it wasn't something Kurt had done, shouldn't he _want_ to vent about it?

But no. Blaine was maintaining that "nothing" was wrong. He was "fine." Kurt knew all about "fine" versus fine. He'd been "fine" throughout most of high school—and, for the record "fine" wasn't fine.

"Hey." Blaine said.

"Why are you listening to Pink? We both know that if it isn't Perfect or Raise Your Glass, you're in a bad mood."

"Damn Wes." Blaine muttered.

"Are you holding up okay?" Kurt asked.

"Yes and I don't want to talk about it." Blaine said stubbornly.

"Is it something that I did wrong? I can't think of anything I've done wrong." Kurt asked. "I don't understand this. You said we'd openly talk about our feelings and be there for each other. You're not talking about what's going on and I can't help you or be there for you unless I know what it is."

"It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me." Blaine sighed. "So don't worry. I'm not mad at you."

"Then open up. It took us the better part of three years to get solid, open communication down. Don't start taking steps back because we live a few hours apart."

"Fourteen hours." Blaine retorted.

Kurt closed his eyes, willing himself not to sigh. "I get it. You're frustrated about something. But you haven't even told Wes. Maybe if you tell someone, you'll feel better. Carole's home. Do you want me to give her the phone? She always makes you feel better."

"I don't want to talk to Carole."

"You're acting immature. Either talk about what's wrong or stop acting this way." Kurt snapped.

"Do you ever just try to fall asleep but you _can't_ because you're so used to sleeping together?" Blaine asked after several seconds.

"This is about…?"

"No. It's unrelated." Blaine said shortly. "I was upset the other night and it just… did that."

"Well, yeah." Kurt whispered, surprised. He wasn't exactly expecting to hear _this._ "I do know what that's like."

"Well last night and the night before I could barely sleep. I was in a bad mood and all I wanted was a hug from you. Or to snuggle up to you and fall asleep. But you aren't here, Kurt. That sucks."

Kurt closed his eyes again. "I'm sorry, Blaine… But you saw me last week when I stayed with you all, remember? It's only a few more weeks until Thanksgiving. You're almost done with the first semester."

"That's just a few more weeks until I see _you_." Blaine said. "I don't want to go weeks without seeing you. I don't want to have to schedule time to call you. I want to watch your dumb reality shows with you. I want to be there with you when we're on the phone and Melody's doing funny things. I miss you."

"I miss you too." Kurt said, taking a deep breath. "I feel the same way."

"Independence is great and all. There was a time when I was worried I wouldn't be able to be up here alone because I have been so attached to you for _so long_."

Kurt tensed. Was Blaine not attached anymore?

"I didn't know how I'd ever do it. And right now I don't know how I am doing it. I just keep studying and doing homework and hanging out with Wes. But there's still this void. Wes' mom sends us stuff all the time but it's really for him. Even Asshole's parents send stuff and I know Carole does, and I am so appreciative, but just… _ugh_."

"Shh." Kurt said, trying to soothe him. "Every time you get upset, you can't go to this place."

"It's not about that even." Blaine said. "It's the fact that you've filled this hole—Wes would be making crude jokes right now—and now you're gone. It's hard to just…" he trailed off.

Kurt waited, not about to speak because he was afraid of interrupting Blaine and the older boy not continuing.

"I'm fine but the first time something goes wrong, I just miss you so much more because it's when I need you the most. I guess. I sound so stupid."

"You don't sound stupid, Blaine." Kurt reassured him. "I'd hug you if I were there."

"I know. And it's my fault _I'm_ not there."

"Yes but Harvard is where you want—need to be. Alright? I'm still here for you even if I'm _here_ and you're _there_. That doesn't change anything. I'm sorry you had a bad day yesterday but don't like it affect today. You deserve good days. You're supposed to be happy right now. Enjoying being in _Boston_. How cool of a city is Boston?"

"It's pretty cool." Blaine said, actually laughing. "I went to Newbury Street earlier today after my class. It was neat. There's a Museum of Fine Arts close by. It looks kind of expensive but I think I'm going to save up and go see it. There were a lot of places to eat and shop, too."

"Blaine, you're inheriting how many million? I don't think you need to save up for museum tickets." Kurt laughed. While he really wanted to know what had gone wrong and why Blaine was refusing to talk about it, he was glad that Blaine was at least cheering up. Maybe whatever it was hadn't been so serious. Maybe it was a small thing that just brought the stuff Blaine talked about to the surface. At this rate, he doubted he'd ever find out what was going on.

"You do have a point there." Blaine said.

"Don't I always?" Kurt laughed.

"Yeah apart from when you're horny and I'm busy. Those arguments you make aren't quite coherent. It pretty much comes out sounding like ' _Oh please I need applesauce and feed the dog fuck me please_.'"

"Does not." Kurt said, glancing at his closed door just to make sure it was closed. As if his dad and Carole didn't know that he had sex… That still didn't mean they needed to know how… vocal Kurt could be about how much he wanted it.

"You're blushing, aren't you?" Blaine teased.

"No." Kurt lied.

"I bet you looked at the door and everything. You're adorable."

"How many times do we have to go over this? You're the adorable one. Let's just admit it and move on." Kurt said, trying to sound annoyed.

"Fine, fine, if you insist."

"Hey! You're not supposed to agree!" Kurt gasped, causing Blaine to laugh more.

"Well you stated it as if it was a fact." Blaine said, giggling. "Okay, okay, sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"

"I'm sorry you're not more adorable than me."

"You suck." Kurt shook his head.

"Only sometimes."

"You're so clever." Kurt rolled his eyes.

"It's why I'm here, isn't it?" Blaine asked before letting out a quiet sigh. "Thanks, Kurt. I feel better."

"Yes, well, it's why you love me." Kurt said. "I'll always be here to make you feel better."

"I love you so much." Blaine said, voice earnest.

"I love you too." Kurt responded.

"I'm sure you were working on homework or something, weren't you?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah but I can make time for you." Kurt moved from his desk and sat on his bed, tucking a leg under him and resting against his pillows. "We can talk about how nice Thanksgiving is going to be. They're going back and forth discussing where it will be though. Grandpa kind of wants to have it in New York since Taylor and Paige just moved back in together. Neither of them know how to cook, though, and I don't think their apartment is big enough for all of us. But I think it would be cool. And it'd be a lot closer for you. I won't have class that Tuesday and Thursday… I was thinking I could maybe come and stay with you and we head down Thursday if they go that route?"

"That sounds amazing." Blaine said. "Have you talked to Taylor or Paige recently?"

"Not since they burst into my room to tell me they were back together." Kurt laughed. "I think they're still away on their vacation."

"I bet they're really eloping." Blaine snorted.

"The idea hasn't been ruled out. I have a feeling they've been together longer than they're letting on." Kurt let out a content sigh. "I'm so glad they're back together. I know Paige was pretty crappy, but I still think they're perfect for one another. I'm glad Taylor forgave her."

"I hope that never happens to us." Blaine said quietly. "I can't imagine not being with you, Kurt. You mean so much to me. I don't know what I'd do."

"We won't have to worry about that. We've got our motto, right? We'll talk about our feelings, be there for each other, and get through this."

"And the end result will be two adorable little girls—one from each of us." Blaine added. "We should start coming up with a name for our second daughter, don't you think?"

"I'm caught up on the fact that you're convinced they'll both be girls."

"I know it's what you want, so I want it too."

Kurt smiled, his heart fluttering. How had he been frustrated with Blaine Anderson several minutes ago? How could anyone be frustrated with him? "You know, I think I'd be okay with whatever we end up with."

"Even a dinosaur or an alien?"

"Shut up." Kurt giggled.

"No, Kurt. That'd be so awesome."

Kurt massaged his forehead. He really was dating a big child. There was no doubt about it. "Really, though. We'll push through this. What is two or three years separated when you think about my grandparents who have been together for fifty four years now? It's only going to be a very minute fraction of our lives together."

"People don't give you enough credit for how smart you are sometimes, Kurt." Blaine said after a few seconds of silence.

"It's just easier to think about it that way. In ten years, we'll look back at this and be like 'We were lovesick puppies, weren't we? I'm glad we've matured into real adults now who can spend a few weeks apart. Kurt said.

"If anything, I'm a puppy and you're a kitten." Blaine protested.

"It's a good thing you like cats better than dogs then." Kurt said, feeling happier than he had in days.

He had cheered Blaine up, (sort of) discussed plans for meeting in Thanksgiving, and he didn't even have any homework that was _due_ the next day. That meant he could really stay on the phone with Blaine as long as Blaine would let him.

Now they just had to make it to Thanksgiving.


	6. Chapter Six

_I can't wait to see you the day after tomorrow._

Kurt looked up from his cell phone nearly three weeks later, trying to keep the absolute most ridiculous smile off of his face. Really, though. How could Blaine send stuff like that when he was in public? Didn't he know how it could make Kurt want to smile, laugh, and cry all at the same time?

He glanced around the half full classroom, surprised so many students were there when the lecture didn't start for at least twenty more minutes. He then read the text again, smile growing once more, and typed out a response.

**I can't wait to see you either. I really wish you didn't have to go to that trial so you could come home tonight.**

The answer was almost immediate.

_I tried to talk my way out of it, but I have to attend so many and the only make up one will be when I'm in another class. :( Can you talk on the phone?_

**I'm in the lecture hall, so no. The sad face isn't necessary. We'll still have sex days.**

_Hahahahahhaaaa._

**?**

**Blaine, you're immature.**

Kurt rolled his eyes, staring at his phone and trying to figure out why Auto Correct hated him so much. What had he even hit to make it put that anyway?

_Hahahaaahahaha._

Kurt rolled his eyes again. This was his _Harvard Law_ boyfriend.

_Like, full days of sex? I'm down._

**I'm not dignifying that with a response.**

_That in itself was a response. 3_

"You're so corny." Kurt actually said out loud, jumping when he felt movement by him.

"You can't say I'm corny before I even _speak_ , Kurt. It doesn't work that way." Alec said, sliding into the empty seat next to Kurt.

"I was talking to Blaine. Well, at him." Kurt explained, looking up at Alec.

"You do realize he's not here, right?" Alec teased.

Kurt held up his phone.

"Ah. I see." Alec nodded. "Speaking of your significant other, when will he be coming home? Because it's the last day of classes, tomorrow is the last day of your internship until after Thanksgiving break, and I think these things call for a celebration."

"A celebration?"

"A celebration? With who?" Kurt, who had been reading Vogue while texting Blaine, closed his magazine and arched his eyebrow.

"Dinner and drinks to celebrate getting almost entirely through yet another semester of hell. You, me, and Derek. Who else?" Alec set his bag on the table and began pulling out the stuff he needed for class.

"I don't know about the three of us going and getting drinks as a planned event. You know as well as I do that Blaine gets kind of jealous."

Alec rolled his eyes. "Well he came around with me. Derek is harmless and I think he knows you've got a boyfriend. Plus, if Blaine is going to be home tomorrow night he can come with us. I wouldn't mind seeing him again. He's really funny."

"He's not going to be home tomorrow night. We were actually just talking about that before he reverted back to a ten-year-old girl. He's coming the night after tomorrow. He has a trial thing for a class that he can't get out of." Kurt made a clicking noise with his tongue.

"Didn't you say he was done with classes for the week?"

"Two of his classes aren't meeting but they have a lot of work. So, yeah." Kurt nodded.

"So he has to stay an extra two days for a thing that is outside of class? That _sucks_. I would be so pissed. Plus, you know airplane tickets are more expensive the closer you get to a holiday." Alec cringed a bit.

"He's just going to try to get work done I think. He isn't thrilled about it but sometimes scheduling sucks." Kurt shrugged, and then he blinked a few times. He'd come a pretty far ways from the beginning of the school year when he'd been legitimately upset a trip got pushed back two days.

"Good, positive attitude." Alec grinned. "Now take that positive attitude and gear it towards dinner and drinks. Come on. Look at this shit." He gestured at both of their complete sketches for five outfits—Three weeks of work had gone into them. Maybe more than that. "We deserve it."

It was true.

He really did deserve a night out with friends after all of the hard work he'd put in—both at school and at his internship. What would he be doing if he were at home anyway? He'd wanted to do some more sketch work so he and Blaine could spend more time together without school things getting in the way… but, to be honest, Kurt was _tired_ of sketching. Sketching, sketching, sewing, cutting fabric, sketching. He was so tired of it. He could have one night away, right?

Besides, Blaine wouldn't be back until the next day. Sure, he'd be watching Melody most of the morning until it was time to get Blaine… but he'd fix Blaine some food, put Melody in front of Bob the Builder, and viola. Kurt sketch time. And, if all else failed, he could put a blanket over Melody's bedroom door, turn the lights off, and tell her it was bedtime… He knew that worked with birds. Maybe Melody was still too young to know the difference.

Yeah, right.

She was a toddler, not stupid.

And that wouldn't solve the Blaine aspect. In fact, it'd probably make it worse. Without Melody in sight, Blaine would probably try to talk him into having sex.

No. Kurt would be better off taking the time to do homework.

"I probably shouldn't. I was actually going to do homework."

"Come _onnnn_. You'll have the whole break to do that." Alec said, a hint of a whine to his voice. "Think about next year. We won't have time to go out for drinks. We'll be in grad school. Plus, you said your dad likes when you're out more… Even though I think he's pretty sure I'm trying to steal you away from Blaine."

"God, could he have brought Blaine up any more in that fifteen minute conversation?" Kurt laughed, thinking back to the one and only time Burt had met Alec. If Kurt had it his way, that would be the last time they ever met either. At least he knew Burt _definitely_ approved of Blaine, not that he'd ever had doubts.

"No. My dad is the same way. My mom is even worse." Alec reassured him. "I guess I missed the memo saying I can't have gay friends while I have a boyfriend."

"I must have missed it too." Kurt snorted. "Then again, Blaine has all straight friends."

"Are you sure they're straight?"

"Well David's _definitely_ straight and I'm pretty sure Wes is straight. He certainly goes through enough girls… but then you have to factor in that he and Blaine have kissed on more than one occasion—once while sober, I never got the story there and probably don't want it either—and Wes also cuddles up with Blaine."

"He doesn't _sound_ straight when you take those last things into consideration." Alec snorted.

"But he doesn't seem gay. It's _weird_. He always asks questions about our sex lives too." Kurt added thoughtfully.

"Whatever. I'm sure Blaine won't mind you hanging out with a few friends. It's not like we'll get wasted. We'll just get dinner and a drink. You don't even have to drink."

"I think Blaine will be more concerned with the fact that it'll be the middle of the night." Kurt sighed.

"You're a college student. He should expect it." Alec shrugged.

"He's got reasoning behind it." Kurt said, a tone to his voice that made it clear he didn't want to explain. Although he'd known Alec for a long time, he still hadn't told the boy about his attack and why exactly Blaine had lived in Ohio while going to a school in Kentucky.

Truthfully, it probably would have been easier to tell someone who didn't know anything about him. As far as he knew, Alec saw him as an independent, strong and confident person. He spent a lot of time worrying that people would think he was weak if they found out about his attack, so he tried to keep it quiet. It hadn't really come up, to be honest, but he really didn't feel like talking about it right then. Not to mention the fact that class would be starting soon.

"You always call Blaine on the drive home anyway. _Come on_." Alex urged. "It will be fun."

"You are a horrible person!" Kurt laughed.

"You have to go. I'm texting Derek and setting it up right now." Alec whipped out his phone and waved it in the air for emphasis.

"How's Eric?" Kurt sighed, admitting defeat. What would one hour hurt?

"I'll take that as an 'okay!'" Alec hit the send button on his phone. "He's doing splendidly. He'll be making it into town around the same time as your lover boy. Our parents are kind of mad we're not heading back to California… We may go down just for Thursday and Friday but that seems so pointless. And it's so expensive. Neither of us really have that much money and I hate getting into my inheritance."

"Not going home would never be an option for me." Kurt said. "My grandmother would disown me… until it was her birthday and she wanted a cake."

Alec laughed. "I don't know how to bake… or cook."

"Does Eric?"

"He likes to pretend." Alec laughed again. "He can cook some stuff but he gets a little too ambitious."

"So are you two not going to have a Thanksgiving dinner?"

"Last year we got Japanese. He wants Chinese this time."

"You can come to my family's dinner if you want. We're going back and forth between where we're having it though. It was going to be New York but my aunts' house is kind of flooded. It'll either be in Akron or Lima."

"Thanks but that's okay." Alec smiled. "We enjoy our take out holiday dinners. They're kind of romantic..."

"Alright. The offer's open, though, in case you change your mind." Kurt shrugged and glanced down at his phone, smiling when he had a new text from Blaine.

Alec looked down at Kurt's phone and then got a goofy smile. "Oh my God. Your boyfriend is so sweet. Mine never says stuff like that to me anymore. Last night I got a text that said, 'When I see you Tuesday night, we're going to do it.'"

"Oh, I get those too." Kurt waved his hand. "I think he just throws these in every once in a while for good measure."

"At least you get them." Alec nudged him. "How are _you_ two doing?"

"We're good." Kurt smiled. "I mean, I wish we talked more… and saw each other more. But we're not really fighting… Sometimes I can just tell something is off but he won't want to talk about it… but for the most part, we're doing well."

"If it's that important, I'm sure he'll talk about it." Alec reassured him.

"Yeah." Kurt nodded. "But it's just that the lack of communication is kind of starting to ge—."

The professor walked in, greeting the class.

"Later." Alec promised him quietly, grabbing a notebook and pencil.

"Yeah, later." Kurt bit back a sigh and stared at the front of the classroom, trying to push a nagging feeling that was threatening to return down to him.

What he had _wanted_ to say was that the lack of communication was starting to get to him.

And it kind of really was.

* * *

 _No no no no no,_ Kurt thought the next afternoon as he got into his car and prepared to head to the restaurant where he was _supposed_ to be meeting Alec and Eric. He was _supposed_ to be, but apparently Alec was trying to bail on him.

This was why Kurt hated making plans. Because it seemed like he had been getting the short end of the stick lately. Missed Skype dates, missed calls, forgotten text messages, and now Alec was trying to bail on him. He _knew_ he should have just said no. He _knew_ it.

"Really?"

"I know, I know, I know! I'm sorry, Kurt, but I didn't expect him to show up but he did and I was going to invite him and we all go but he's pouting at me and keeps threatening to pull out the scrap book I made him when I was fifteen. Believe me, nobody wants to see that thing. It's pitiful." Alec said on the other end of Kurt's phone the next afternoon.

"I don't have a good excuse to get out of it. He's _your_ friend. I just know him at work. He's nice and all but I don't think I know him well enough to hang out with him alone." Kurt said, frowning. He hadn't signed up for _this_. He had definitely not signed up for this.

"It's not like it's a date—Eric, stop it, really. Stop it. Look, Kurt, I'm sorry. Just make up something if you really don't want to be alone with him but he's super nice and—Eric, I will hurt you if you don't— _aah_!"

Kurt pulled back his phone, looking confused, when he heard Eric start to speak.

"Kurt, he's got to go. And yes, you'll sound like an asshole if you make an excuse to get out of it. Man up and go hang out. All of your gay friends can't be as awesome as my boyfriend… and me, of course."

Kurt groaned.

"By the way, how's Blaine liking Harvard?"

"You did _not_ just steal my phone and strike up a conversation with my friend, you jerk." Kurt heard Alec scoff in the background.

"Now, now, don't hit. That is abuse." Eric said very calmly, making Kurt silently giggle. He could only imagine the antics Eric and Blaine would get up to if they got to know each other.

"Can't you two go for ten minutes? And then we can all leave?" Kurt asked.

"No. I haven't seen Alec in three weeks and you see him, like, four or five days a week. It's Eric time. Bye, Kurt."

"Damn you." Kurt huffed as Eric hung up Alec's phone. It wasn't like he could make up an excuse because, unlike Alec, Kurt had seen Derek not even an hour before at their internship. _Thank God Alec didn't call when I was still with him otherwise he would have seen me looking horrified,_ Kurt thought to himself.

_Blaine's not going to like this very much. I better call him_ , he mentally added. In some situations, it was better to ask forgiveness as opposed to permission. This, he decided, was not one of those times. He dialed Blaine's number and waited for him to pick up. It took eight rings but his boyfriend finally answered.

"Hmmhlo?" Blaine asked, voice groggy.

"Oh my God. You were asleep. What time is it?" Kurt gasped, looking down at his dashboard.

"So tired. I was up late." Blaine mumbled, still half asleep.

"Okay well I have to tell you something. I'm trying to avoid any big shocks or mishaps or something. I was supposed to go out to dinner with Alec and Derek tonight but Alec bailed. It's going to be just Derek and I. I just wanted to make sure that you're okay with it. If it's going to upset you in any way, then I'm not going to do it. Although you and I both know that you have nothing to worry about." Kurt said very calmly.

He heard rustling and then Blaine spoke. "You're going out _alone_ with the internship guy?"

"It was going to be all of us but evidently Eric surprised Alec with a visit." Kurt said. "I tried to talk him into just dragging Eric too but he doesn't want to… and you know if it were reversed, you wouldn't want me to leave too."

"Are you sure that it's _safe_ to be alone with this guy? How late will you all be out? You know when you're out late it makes me nervous. Especially there because it's not as big of a city and I just—."

"He's not going to pull anything. He's harmless. He's exactly like Alec, I promise. There is nothing threatening about him in the least." Kurt promised. "And I'm always careful. You know that. You shouldn't worry."

"I can't help it. I always worry about you." Blaine said, his voice soft.

"I know." Kurt felt himself smiling a bit. "I would offer to call when I walk to my car but I think you need the sleep, you poor thing. I wouldn't have called if I knew you were asleep but I never imagined you'd be in bed at eight."

"You can call. You should call." Blaine argued, voice still thick with sleep. "I'll stay up."

"I'll be fine, babe. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it. Are you?"

"Are you sure you know him well enough to trust him?" Blaine questioned.

"Yeah. He's been Alec's friend for years. He's okay, Blaine. I just can't get out of it without being rude but if it bothers you I will."

"Go… You should go." Blaine sighed a bit. "But be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I promise I'll be extra careful. Get some sleep, babe. I love you. I'll text you when I'm safely in my car and then again when I'm safely home that way you'll know when you wake up." Kurt said.

"Mmkay. Have fun, my love."

Kurt smiled. "Goodnight, babe. I love you."

"I love you too. Good night." Blaine said before hanging up.

…

Alright. Maybe it wasn't as awkward as Kurt thought it would be without Alec there, but that didn't stop him from inwardly wishing Alec were there… or even better, if Kurt _wasn't_ there and _was_ with his boyfriend.

"So, you're applying to Parsons? Why didn't you just start out there for your bachelors?" Derek asked curiously. "You're really good. You could have gotten in without a doubt."

"There was a lot of stuff going on and I wanted to be closer to Blaine. I really couldn't picture being that far away from him for that long." Kurt responded, taking a sip of his water. At least Derek was the one asking the questions because Kurt definitely had no idea what to really talk about. Maybe his dad was right. Maybe he needed to get out more.

"And he left you. Nice how that works, isn't it?" Derek laughed.

Kurt forced a smile when, in actuality, he was gritting his teeth.

_Don't say anything. He doesn't even know anything about the two of you_ , he told himself.

But what gave him the right to just assume things like that, or make comments?

"Actually he took a leave of absence school for a year to take care of me after I was attacked. He worked hard to still graduate on time and get into law school and I think he deserves it. You don't know anything about our relationship, so keep your assumptions to yourself." Kurt said, snider than he'd intended for it to sound.

Derek blinked at him, clearly in shock. "Oh my God, Kurt. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you… You were _attacked_?"

"That's why I try to not stay out really late. Blaine and my Dad worry because I was out late the night it happened." Kurt said, an eerie feeling spreading over him. Was he really at the point where he could _casually_ talk about the attack that could have killed him? Maybe it was time to tell Alec.

"Were you—Are you okay? He dropped out of _school_? I am the world's biggest asshole."

"You didn't know… It's just a soft spot." Kurt sighed. "It's not something I like to talk about—or think about. But he's done a lot for me. Yes, I miss him a lot and I wish we were together… but it's what he wants and who would I be to stand in his way?"

"He could have waited for you. That is what anyone sane would have done. It was only a year." Derek said and then Kurt looked down.

Derek's hand was on his knee. It happened so suddenly that it caught Kurt completely by surprise.

Nobody touched him.

He was only used to Blaine touching him. After all, Blaine had been his first boyfriend. Nobody had ever touched him in an intimate way before. And he immediately discovered no one else ever would.

Kurt immediately moved Derek's hand, trying to not look whatever he felt— disgusted. He _knew_ he shouldn't have come. He just had a feeling about being there without Alec.

"We were _just_ talking about my boyfriend." Kurt stood. "My boyfriend who should not have to put his plans on hold for a year to wait for anybody, especially me. My boyfriend who would also not be very happy with the fact that you're _touching me_ as you try to convince me that he's a bad boyfriend. For what? Did you think without Alec here that you could just take me to your _dorm_ , that we would have sex, and I'd call Blaine tomorrow morning and end our relationship of five years?"

"Look at me." Derek said, gesturing towards himself. "I've seen pictures of your boyfriend on Facebook. He doesn't even look gay. Are you _sure_ he is?"

Kurt took a deep breath, in and out. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"What? Your boyfriend doesn't like competition?"

" _You are not competition._ " Kurt hissed, throwing a $20 onto the table. "I'll see you at work. I think you had too much to drink. You might want to call someone to pick you up. Maybe they'll sleep with you."

"Call me if you get lonely!"

Kurt stormed out of the place and got in his car, throwing the door open and climbing in. He pulled onto the road and then called Alec.

"What was _that_?" he practically shouted without a hello.

"Wait, what?" Alec asked, sounding confused.

"He basically started bashing Blaine and then put his hand on me knee—."

"Oh no."

"And when I tried to reiterate the fact that Blaine is my _boyfriend_ , he implies that he wanted to take me home, sleep with me, and have me break up with Blaine in the morning."

" _What_?" Alec yelped.

"Granted I think he'd already started drinking before I even got there but some warning would have been nice. Here I've been thinking he was harmless."

"You're joking, right?" Alec asked.

"I told you he was a prick but you never listen to me." Eric said in the background. " _You're too judgmental_ my ass."

"He doesn't normally act like that. I have no idea what's going on." Alec said after there was the sound of a smack and an, "Ow!"

"Well maybe he just had too much to drink but that still doesn't make it alright."

"Of course it doesn't." Alec agreed. "I'll call and yell at him for being an asshole tomorrow, alright?"

"It was less him touching my leg and more him bashing Blaine. He doesn't know anything about us or our relationship." Kurt mumbled.

"You should be mad about all of it. I'm sorry, Kurt. I've never known him to do something like that." Alec sighed. "Look, don't worry about it, okay?"

"Yeah alright. I'm going to go so I can text Blaine in case he's sitting up and waiting. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Kurt sighed.

"Alright. Kurt… if I'd known he would have pulled that, I wouldn't have…"

"I know." Kurt reassured him. "I was more venting than anything"

"Good." Alec let out a relieved sigh. "Good night, Kurt."

"Night, Alec."

"NIGHTY NIGHT, KURT!" Eric called.

"Are you sure he and Blaine aren't brothers?" Kurt laughed. "Tell him goodnight."

Alec laughed. "Okay. Bye."

"Bye." Kurt hung up, typing out a quick text to Blaine at a red light before making his way home.

What on Earth was he going to tell Blaine?

* * *

Kurt intended to sleep in, but it didn't quite happen. Part of the reasoning was the fact that he really and truly did have a lot of work he wanted to get done—both school work and baking wise, considering his grandmother had called him twice within the past week to let him know that school work was not an excuse worthy of not baking holiday treats. There was also the fact that Melody had been up for hours, running through the house and shrieking random phrases as Burt chased her around—with unsuccessful attempts of catching her, Kurt assumed, because the running and shrieking had yet to stop.

And, of course, there was the fact that Kurt was eager to talk to Blaine and solidify their meeting plans, but… he didn't know how much he was going to tell Blaine about what had happened the night before. His best plan of attack was to gauge Blaine's reactions and then judge how far to go… but he hated to bring it up to Blaine at all, to be honest. He knew that whatever had happened was stupid, but Blaine was both protective and very… not territorial. Maybe a bit territorial, but Kurt knew that it stemmed from him not wanting to lose Kurt.

He had to bring it up, though. By not bringing it up, it made it into something more than it was. Besides, Blaine would probably kill him if he found out later on.

He sat at his desk sketching and keeping an eye on his computer, eagerly waiting for Blaine to sign onto Skype. As soon he did and their call connected, Kurt's eyes lit up.

"Morning sleepyhead." He said, smiling at the image of a messy haired Blaine on his laptop.

"It's after three." Blaine responded, yawning.

"And there you sit, adorable as ever and making it painfully obvious that you only just woke up when I've been awake for hours wondering if you'd drowned in homework." Kurt's smile grew. "Your hair is getting a _little_ out of control, honey."

"Out of control? It's starting to take over my head. I need to get it cut before it turns into an afro." Blaine sighed a bit. "You probably wouldn't like me as much if it got to that point. You hold a pretty high amount of importance on appearances."

"Yes but when it comes to you, the rules are changed. Plus, the pictures from when you had longer hair are adorable. I think as long as I knew the shorter curls would come back, that I'd be okay." Kurt said very seriously. "But they must come back, alright?"

"Oh they'll come back. Very, very soon."

"Because," Kurt continued. "I can handle longer hair, I can handle scruff, but I can't handle both at once. It's just too much for me, okay? When you have both, you're adorableness and your sex appeal _sky rocket,_ okay? I don't know what it is, but they do. That's just not fair to me because I can't keep up."

"Oh my God. You think you can't keep up with adorableness and sex appeal?" Blaine actually gasped. "Have you looked in a mirror? Your adorableness and your sex appeal isn't dependent on how your hair is. You just have both. It's not really fair to the rest of the world. The only reason I'm not jealous is because you're mine."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "You're just saying that because you want extra potato candy."

"No. I really don't think you understand how attractive you are, Kurt. I don't think you have a clue."

Kurt rolled his eyes again. "Either way, Mellie is going to have a field day when you get home tomorrow night."

Blaine laughed. "Yeah. Precisely why I'm going to get it cut before I head down."

" _Nooo_. Don't. Here. Why don't you get it cut on Friday?"

"No no no no no. It looks horrible, Kurt. _Horrible_."

"It's cute." Kurt argued.

"Sorry, but no." Blaine shook his head. He was absolutely _not_ going to Ohio with his hair in its current state. Not. Happening.

Kurt stuck out his lower lip, knowing Blaine wouldn't be able to ignore the pout. "Please? For me?"

Blaine laughed and looked up at the ceiling, actually looking embarrassed. "Fine, fine."

"That always works." Kurt said very cheerfully, beaming.

"Only because I feel bad that we're not closer. I'm going to man up when we're both completely done with school and living together." Blaine vowed, although he knew he would never really man up when it came to Kurt.

"No. Then we'll be wedding bound, I'm sure. So then I'll get _everything_ I want."

"Who says I'm proposing that soon? I love how you've got this mapped out." Blaine laughed again. "Can there not be any element of surprise to it?"

"There can be. But sooner is always better than later." Kurt said very seriously. "People might start to think my promise ring is fake."

"Ah." Blaine gave a small nod. "I see. It has nothing to do with the fact that you want to get married. You just want a ring so people will know you're taken?"

"I'm glad we're finally on the same page." Kurt teased.

Blaine ran his hand through his hair. "So, how did last night go?"

Kurt let out a half laugh that turned into a frown. _Here goes nothing…_ "Okay. Now don't be mad."

"What happened?" Blaine's demeanor changed instantly. "Are you alright? Did that guy do something to you?"

"It's not a big deal, Blaine… but… he flirted with me." Kurt admitted, mentally bracing himself for Blaine's reaction. "I told him that I had a boyfriend and then I left."

"That is bad sparknotes version, Kurt." Blaine scowled. Kurt could literally see the jealousy building up.

"Does it really matter what happened word for word? I don't know. Maybe he was getting tipsy or something. But I made it very known that I was with you and happy. And then I left."

"But he already knew you had a boyfriend." Blaine said slowly.

"I know, Blaine." Kurt said, not looking away from the screen.

"And he still flirted with you."

"Yeah. He did."

"And he'd never flirted with you before? It sounds like he couldn't wait to get you alone so he could pull some sleazy stunt like this."

"Blaine, don't worry about it." Kurt said, raising his voice just a tad to catch Blaine's attention. "I think it's incredibly amusing that he thinks I'd ever want someone like him when I have _you_."

"I don't think it's funny." Blaine scoffed.

"What time is the trial you have to attend?" Kurt asked, only to change the subject. Luckily it seemed to work, although he wasn't immature enough to think the discussion was done forever.

"Like three hours." Blaine sighed, some of the anger leaving him.

"But you don't participate?"

"No. I just have to be there." Blaine said.

"Well what time is your flight tomorrow? So I'll know when you pick you up? Wes already headed out, right?"

"Wes leaves tonight and I think the asshole is leaving in a few minutes. My flight is at one so I have to be at the airport at eleven. I think it's about a two hour flight. Maybe a bit longer."

"Alright." Kurt nodded. I'll be there at three just in case."

"Do you know where we're going for dinner yet?"

"No. I think Dad is trying to talk everyone into coming here… It makes more sense to go to Akron though because Grandma and Grandpa's house is bigger. Besides, I don't know how Kreacher and Oreo will handle Paige and Taylor's dog being here." Kurt shrugged.

"Oh. Okay." Blaine nodded, but Kurt could tell that he was still bothered by the conversation they had just had.

"Why? Do you care either way?" Kurt asked curiously. "They'll take votes I'm sure."

"Oh, it doesn't matter. But I may try to at least go and see David and Wes' family in Westerville. Sarah has demanded I bring her…. Some baby doll? I don't know. Wes couldn't find it but I was going to try to find it after the trial if I get out in enough time."

"If you don't find it, maybe we can try to find it when you get here." Kurt smiled.

"Okay." Blaine smiled back a bit. "If I get the chance to go, you can come with me. I think Wes' mom would love to meet you. She's under the impression that I'm making you up in my head."

"I would love to go with you. Don't think you're getting time away from me. You are mine until you are back on a plane to Boston." Kurt's smile grew.

"Good." Blaine laughed a bit, sitting up straighter and then face widening into a grin.

"What are you—oh. Hi, Melody." Kurt said, able to see his little sister poking her head in on the computer screen.

"Door's open!"

"It wasn't open until you made it that way." Kurt sang, turning in his seat to look at her as she toddled in.

"Hair!" Melody giggled and pointed at the screen.

"All that hair to play with when he gets home tomorrow!"

Melody's eyes widened and she let out a shriek, flailing her arms excitedly.

"Well someone is certainly excited for Blaine to come home." Kurt sat a bouncing Melody on his lap. "Sorry I'm not giving such a response, Blaine."

"She's _speechless_!" Blaine laughed. "This is wonderful!"

"Kurt, Kurt, Kuuuuurt!" Melody whispered loudly, gently tugging on his shirt sleeve.

"Yes, gorgeous?"

Melody giggled, glanced at the computer screen bashfully, and then buried her face in Kurt's shoulder.

"Oh, she's going to be _shy_." Kurt rolled his eyes. "This is a new development, Blaine."

"I'm not shy!" Melody protested.

Kurt turned her around so she was facing Blaine. "Don't you miss Blaine?"

"Uh huh!" Melody nodded.

"We miss him lots and lots." Kurt leaned down, resting his chin on Melody's head even if it put him at a slightly awkward angle. He then pouted at Blaine. "Don't we?"

"You two are horrible." Blaine shook his head.

Melody turned herself around and whispered something in Kurt's ear before scampering off.

"I've got to take her to the potty." Kurt informed Blaine. "Because she has to 'poopy' and couldn't say so in front of you."

"Better you than me." Blaine grinned.

"Ha." Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Well I better pack anyway, so I can just call you after my trial?"

"Please do. I need to know what you want for the grocery list or else you'll whine that there isn't any _good food_." Kurt laughed. "Bye, babe. I love you."

"I love you too, Kurt." Blaine said, waving. "Bye."

"KUUUURT!" Melody called from the bathroom.

"I'm coming, sweetie! I'm coming!" Kurt called before shutting his laptop and running from the room.

What had he said about wanting two children?

What was he _thinking_?

…

"Someone hit on Kurt."

Wes, who was _trying_ to sleep, pulled his pillow over his head.

"Wes, I need to vent."

"Call David." Wes yawned.

"That guy that Kurt works with at the internship… the one who is Alec's friend? He started hitting on Kurt last night. Even though he knows Kurt is dating someone—well, me. Dating me." Blaine climbed into the bed, bringing his laptop with him.

"Oh my God. Are you signed onto Kurt's Facebook?" Wes mumbled sleepily, sitting up.

"Of course not. We don't get on each other's Facebook." Blaine scoffed. "I found him through Kurt's friend page. Look at this douche, okay? That is _so_ not his real eye color. There is no way."

"Blaine, you are crazy." Wes yawned. "You do not need to have Facebook. You can't handle it responsibly. You have a problem. You are a Facebook stalker."

"I am not a Facebook stalker. Okay, I am stalking… but only him."

"You stalked Alec too. Remember where that got you? You and Kurt had that _awful_ fight that turned everything upside down. You're going to build up things in your head and take it out on an innocent Kurt." Wes took the laptop and shut it.

Blaine huffed.

"Do you trust Kurt?"

"Of course I trust _Kurt_. It's the other—."

"No. If you trust Kurt, then that is all there is to it." Wes cut him off. "Kurt loves you, Blainers. You don't have to worry about other people."

"But he was flirting with Kurt."

"When I 'flirt' with you, does Kurt get pissed off?"

"That's different. You're straight and you think you're being funny." Blaine argued.

"Think? I _am_ being funny."

"That's debatable." Blaine sighed.

"Even so, it's because Kurt trusts that you won't cheat on him." Wes continued. "Because it's obvious how head over heels you are for him. It's obvious that he is the only one you want."

"So?"

"So I think it's pretty obvious the same goes for Kurt. It's got to be hard having you so far away after everything you two have gone through… but he's okay with it, right? Maybe he was a little—is upset the right word?— but he didn't leave. He wants to make it work. If living thirteen hours away won't come between you, some guy with fake contacts won't."

Blaine sighed and grabbed his laptop, balancing it on his leg but not opening it. He then leaned forward, resting his chin on the edge. "I don't want to lose him."

"I don't think you will. If you two can't make it, I don't know who can." Wes said very seriously. "Don't worry about other people. You'll just get mad and cause arguments between you and Kurt. Arguments are a lot harder to fix when you live thirteen hours away."

"I don't see how I'm supposed to _not_ think about someone that Kurt sees every day 'putting moves' on him or whatever. He wears a _promise ring_. Doesn't that stand for anything?"

"While the gesture is nice, a promise ring isn't a wedding ring. It wouldn't stop me from flirting with a girl and if the girl responds, it's her fault and not mine. But I'm pretty sure Kurt hightailed it out of there quicker than you would have been able to decide whether to punch or kick the guy."

"He did leave…"

"Don't worry, Blaine. You're not going to lose him." Wes fell back into a laying position. "You've met your serious-talk quota for the month. Better be glad it's the end of November."

"Thanks, Wes."

"What'd I say? Quota met. Cuddle or leave. Those are your options."

"Wes, do you get mad when girls leave after sex?" Blaine giggled.

"I'm not answering that."

"It's okay. I already told you. I'll be your snuggle buddy—" Blaine said.

"But not your butt buddy." They finished together.

"I am going to have to turn you down, though. I need to pack so I'm ready to leave tomorrow." Blaine laughed.

"I leave in an hour and haven't started packing yet. I like being challenged."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Tell me bye before you leave?"

"Alright, mommy." Wes grinned.

"If I was your mom, I'd have killed you by now. Probably not even on purpose." Blaine said as he left the room.

"Uh huh! _Suuuure_! I bet that's what all those crazy lady baby killers say!" Wes called.

"I'm busy, Wes!" Blaine yelled.

"Don't you write me off like that, Anderson! I won't stand for it! I'll take away—I don't know what, but I'll take it away!" Wes said, running into Blaine's room. "Ha! I'll take away your beloved Katy Perry CD."

"Give it. Kurt and I are listening to it on the drive from the airport to Lima." Blaine held out his hand as he rifled through CDs with his free one.

"No." Wes said, hiding it behind his back. "It's mine."

"Give. It."

"Fine." Wes handed Blaine the CD and plopped on his bed. "Blainers, you have to show up at my house some time during the break. Mom will kill both of us if you don't. Plus, I kind of already told her you would."

"I intended to visit." Blaine yawned and then continued speaking. "If I can steal Kurt's car, that is. He's kind of protective over it."

"One of these days you'll want to come back and live with me and David." Wes sighed dramatically.

"Oh, that would go really well with my _boyfriend_."

"It was worth a try." Wes let out a fake sob of despair and buried his face in Blaine's pillow.

"You now leave in thirty five minutes. You should probably go pack now." Blaine snorted, grabbing his suitcase. "That way I can pack."

"You just want to make sure I don't miss my flight so you'll be alone tonight and can watch porn because you won't be able to for six days." Wes grumbled as he went off to pack.

"It's like having a child." Blaine mumbled to himself before going into his closet and beginning to grab some clothes. "A very old and annoying child."

...

"Look who I found!" Kurt announced making his way into the garage nearly two hours after picking Blaine up from the airport a few days before Thanksgiving Day. They would have shown up immediately after but there were certain things that needed to be… tended to.

"Blaine!" Burt said, wiping off his hands and going to hug Blaine. "I thought he wasn't going to be here until 4." He said to Kurt and then looked at Blaine. "I thought you weren't going to be here until four."

"Someone wanted a ticket for the one o'clock and I was there early, so we traded." Blaine laughed, hugging Burt. "Hey."

"So it's a good thing that my phone wasn't on silent." Kurt chirped, grabbing Blaine's hand the second that he was no longer hugging Burt.

"It's really great to see you, Blaine. How's school?" Burt asked, clearly excited to see Blaine.

"It's going well." Blaine shrugged a bit, looking embarrassed. "I'm the top student in all of my classes right now. There are a lot of classes at Harvard and I don't take a whole lot, though, so that doesn't say much."

There was a sudden, loud shriek and then tiny arms wrapped themselves tightly around Blaine's legs.

"Oh my God! What is she doing here?" Kurt gasped. "I thought I was picking her up at 3."

"Melody wanted to come to work with Daddy today." Burt chuckled as Blaine flailed his arms and then reached down, scooping little Melody up.

"Blaine!"

"Pumpkin!" Blaine grinned and kissed her cheek.

"You stay?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Six whole days!" Blaine exclaimed.

"EEE!" Melody wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled.

"I think you may have missed me more than Kurt." Blaine laughed.

"Uh huh. He drawed." Melody nodded. "The whole time."

"She means sketched." Kurt laughed. "For school."

"It's boring." Melody whined.

"Yeah, sometimes he'd rather draw than talk to me." Blaine said, nodding solemnly.

"That's not nice."

"Not at all."

Kurt punched Blaine in the arm, rolling his eyes. "And you're not nice a lot of the time, Blaine Anderson. Like when you call and wake me up at seven in the morning on _Saturday_."

"Hey. You should want to hear my voice whenever you can." Blaine protested, winking at Melody as Burt shook his head.

"I don't know, Kurt. Are you sure he's the one you want?"

Kurt heaved a big sigh. "If he doesn't rethink his Saturday morning rituals, I may have to answer no."

Blaine rolled his eyes and gave Melody an eskimo kiss. "Say it like I taught you last time. Go on."

"Really?" Melody asked, clearly excited.

"Yes. We can unveil it." Blaine nodded.

"Somebody's got _jokes_." Melody said sassily.

"Oh my God." Kurt said, rolling his own eyes. "Blaine, really? _Really_?"

"Someone's got jokes." Melody burst into a fit of giggles.

"Hey now. Only when I tell you until you're old enough to understand." Blaine said.

"Got jokes, jokes, jokes." Melody said, nodding her head along to her song. "Jokes, jokes, jokes!"

"Mission abort!" Blaine whispered loudly. "Abort! I repeat, abort!"

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" Melody reached for Burt.

"Melody, do you want to go and get lunch with Kurt and Blaine?" Burt asked, bouncing her a bit.

"And Daddy?"

"Daddy has to stay at work now if he wants to make it home early and have the next few days off." Burt explained.

Melody stuck out her bottom lip and then nuzzled Burt's shoulder. "And Daddy?"

"You know what? I think Mommy might have a lunch break coming up." Kurt said cheerfully. "Should we stop by and see?"

"MOMMY!" Melody cheered, twisting her body around and reaching for Kurt.

"She changes alliances so quickly." Blaine giggled.

"You bet she does. You can't trust her with anything either. She may not know what she's spilling, but that child will get you in trouble faster than you can blink." Burt said, pointing at her.

"Tell Daddy that when he eats badly, he should get in trouble." Kurt said as he set Melody on the ground.

" _Blaaaaaine_ , hungry?" Melody asked.

"There she goes, changing alliances again." Burt chuckled as Blaine scooped Melody back up.

"I am starving. Let's go get food!"

"See you in a bit, Dad." Kurt laughed before leaving.

…

"So did you ever hear from Derek?" Blaine asked nearly thirty minutes into their lunch. He spoke quietly so Melody, who was coloring while eating her fries, could not hear.

"Why would I have? We don't even have each other's phone numbers. I just see him at work." Kurt whispered back, shooting Blaine a confused look.

"Apart from the other times you see him." Blaine sighed.

"Do we really have to discuss this in public and in front of Melody? You know that you have absolutely nothing to worry about." Kurt, who was across from Blaine and next to Melody, leaned over and put his soft hand over Blaine's.

"So he didn't even attempt to apologize?" Blaine asked, picking up a fry.

"That's what I said." Kurt said in an even tone, glancing at an oblivious Melody.

"But did he after?"

"No."

"What were you two even talking about? When it happened?"

"Melody is _right here_ , Blaine. It's not the time." Kurt said, ruffling Melody's hair and smiling at her when she gave him a toothy grin.

"She's not even paying attention." Blaine sighed.

"Am so!" Melody protested.

"Oh, yeah? What were we talking about?" Blaine questioned, making a face at her.

"Potatoes." Melody huffed.

Kurt gave Blaine a look that clearly said, "Drop it."

Blaine opened his mouth to protest but then glanced down at Melody. Kurt was right. It wasn't the time to talk about things like that. He would talk to Kurt about it when Melody was napping or once Burt or Carole got home.

"All done! Cake!" Melody declared, throwing her hands up and into the air.

"You didn't eat all of your food, Melody. You know you have to eat most of your food or no dessert." Kurt said, pushing her plate closer to her. "Eat another chicken nugget. Mmmh, look at the honey mustard. It's yummy."

Melody surveyed Kurt as he dunked her chicken nugget into the yellow sauce and then she held out her tiny hand. She took one bite and dropped the rest of the nugget onto her plate. "Cake! Cake!"

"No, no, no."

Melody scowled and then looked to Blaine. Mustering the most adorable look she could, she asked, "Cake?"

"Oh no you don't." Blaine said. "I'm not getting in the middle of this."

Melody crossed her arms over her chest. "Please?"

"No ma'am." Blaine shook his head. "I only fight my own battles when it comes to your brother."

Melody returned her attention to Kurt. " _Kuuuuuurt_!"

"Eat two more chicken nuggets and I'll get you some cake."

"But I don't wanna!"

"Then you don't get any cake." Kurt moved to stand.

" _Kuuuuuurt_!"

"We will take it home and if you eat your dinner, then you can have it." Kurt sighed before going up to pay.

"Meanie Kurt." Melody whined when he was out of ear shot.

"Kurt's not a meanie. You have to eat your food before you get cake." Blaine said.

"Meanie Kurt and Dumb Blaine." Melody said before clamping her mouth shut.

Blaine sighed. And Kurt wanted _two_ kids?

Blaine held off talking about the 'Derek Dilemma' as he called it for two hours. Really, that was a pretty big achievement with how much Blaine was _thinking_ about it. He waited (very) anxiously. As soon as Kurt closed the room to their bedroom door, though, it came fumbling out.

"I just want to know what he said, Kurt."

Kurt blinked at Blaine for several seconds and then looked up at the ceiling, making Blaine feel like the most annoying person on the face of the planet. Oh well. Blaine couldn't find it in him to care right then. "Blaine…"

Most sane people would probably let it go after hearing that tone, Kurt thought, but clearly Blaine wasn't very sane. "Just tell me. I won't be mad."

"Right." Kurt let out a laugh. "Try that on someone who didn't live with you for years, Blaine."

"I really don't want to get mad. We've had enough arguments about that kind of stuff, don't you think?" Blaine said quietly. "I just want to know what happened so I'll _know_."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"The fact that you 'don't want to talk about it' makes me worry that there is something you're not telling me."

"If I tell you, you're just going to stress out about it or get mad. Plus, I don't want to hurt your feelings."

"Hurt my feelings?" Blaine laughed a bit. "Why would it hurt my feelings?"

"He said some things that I don't think are true, but I'm worried _you_ might think are true." Kurt sighed.

"What do I care what he thinks. What did he say about us?"

"It was more what he said about _you_."

"I think I am above caring about what some _creep_ thinks about me." Blaine let out a sarcastic laugh.

"I don't want to put ideas in your head. I know how you are. Once you get one, it grows and grows until you explode into a fit of rage and angst."

"That is a gross exaggeration. Maybe I wouldn't get to that point if you'd be upfront with me from the beginning." Blaine said somewhat irritably. What could have been so bad that Kurt wouldn't even talk to him? And if it were really nothing, then Blaine was just annoyed because 'nothing' was getting blown way out of proportion.

"Or maybe I just know when it's best to avoid stuff altogether."

"Well _maybe_ you should just tell me so I won't obsess over it."

"This is ridiculous, Blaine. I don't want to talk about it."

"Why?"

"Because I don't!"

"He flirted with you!"

Kurt motioned with his hands so Blaine would quiet down, glancing at the door. "I don't want the whole Alec thing all over again. We nearly broke up."

"There are two differences. One, I don't want to get to that point and that's why I want to talk about it now. Two, _Alec never made a move on you_. I still think it would be best if we discussed this that way we avoid anything we can't handle, because soon I'm not going to _be_ here. It will be a lot harder to do this over Skype or a phone."

"And my rebuttal is that you _thought_ Alec was and it still led to this." Kurt protested. "You don't have to worry about what happened. I'm not going anywhere."

"It's not even about that." Blaine looked away. "I'm worried about the situation and you're just writing it off like it's not worth talking about."

"It was nothing, okay?" Kurt moved one hand to ruffle his curls. "He touched my—."

"Wait, _what_?" Blaine asked, hazel eyes flashing with anger. "He touched you? Where did he touch you? Are you _kidding me_? He _touched_ you and you just weren't going to tell me?"

"It was _nothing_."

"No. It is something to _me_. I want to talk about it. We have been together for over five years. Why can you not sit down and talk to me about what happened? Is that supposed to make me feel _better_? Because it makes me feel worse." Blaine took a deep breath and said, sounding near pitiful, "You're not telling me everything."

"You should trust me."

"I have a right to know what happened. You're my boyfriend and someone is trying to take—."

"He just touched my leg." Kurt rolled his eyes.

"It was your _leg_? Does this guy thing you're a personal escort or something?" Blaine scoffed.

"It's not a big deal. Don't turn this into the jealousy thing."

"I'm not turning this into a jealousy thing. I just want to know exactly what happened between you and this guy." Blaine said, trying to sound calm. This guy touched Kurt's _leg_? No. Blaine knew exactly what that guy wanted to touch and _no_.

"And I'm telling you that exactly what happened shouldn't matter if you trust me. I don't want to tell you."

"How am I supposed to trust you when you can't tell me these things?"

Blaine closed his eyes as Kurt pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"I don't want anyone but you." Kurt promised.

"What if he tries something?" Blaine challenged.

"I handled myself very well. I'm not barely eighteen anymore. I'm a big boy."

"That could be taken more ways than one." Blaine said, a hint of a smile on his face.

"There's the Blaine I know and somewhat love." Kurt let out a mock sigh and then wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck, pressing their bodies together. He nuzzled Blaine's cheek.

"I worry about you a lot." Blaine murmured, tilting his head and kissing Kurt's cheek.

"I know but you don't need to." Kurt nuzzled his cheek again.

"You wouldn't have to stay with me… I mean, just because of everything before… if you were unhappy—."

"I am with exactly who I want to be with." Kurt interrupted.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to stay because of that… well, you know."

"The attack. We can talk about it. It's okay." Kurt looked him in the eyes.

"I know you don't like to." Blaine explained. "But even though I moved here and everything—if you're ever unhappy… I-I'd want you to…"

"It's not going to happen." Kurt cut him off mid-sentence. "We're forever."

Blaine kissed him gently. "Forever."

Kurt nodded and straightened himself up, stepping away from Blaine.

"Kurt, if he ever tries anything—."

"You're going to drive me crazy, aren't you?" Kurt rolled his eyes, but he smiled. "He won't try anything. If he does, I'll let him know that you almost played college soccer and that you're got really strong arms and legs. And that you can kick. And that you've got the prettiest eyes I have ever seen in my life." He touched Blaine's nose. "And that yours are actually real."

Blaine laughed. "You're wrong about one thing."

"What's that?" Kurt questioned.

"Your eyes are prettier." Blaine said, sending him a sweet smile.

Kurt rolled his eyes again. "You're such a charmer."

"You wouldn't have me any other way, though." Blaine slid his arms around Kurt's waist.

"I wouldn't have it any other way because then you would be is a gay version of Wes." Kurt nodded his agreement. "And as much as I adore your friend most of the times, I would never be able to date him."

* * *

"It smells like food." Blaine mumbled sleepily the next morning, nuzzling Kurt's bare shoulder.

"It's the day before Thanksgiving and Carole's supposed to be starting some stuff early. I would hope it did." Kurt snorted, running his fingers through Blaine's shorter curls. He then pouted a bit. "It was rather mean to only give me one night of curls and then to cut them off, you know?"

"I can't take them." Blaine yawned. "They're not manag—manageab—able."

Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine tightly, giving him a squeeze. Although Blaine disagreed, there was no denying it. Blaine was the cute one in the relationship. They would probably argue over it until the day one of them died. Kurt had already decided that if Blaine died first, he was going to have 'BLAINE WAS THE CUTER ONE' on his tombstone… but he would never mention that out loud incase Kurt died first and Blaine stole his idea.

"I miss this." Kurt admitted after shaking his thoughts away, not loosening his grip.

"Miss this? You're usually asleep and I have to force you out of bed with threats of harming your precious clothes." Blaine nuzzled Kurt's shoulder again.

"It's easier to sleep with you here. I wake up in the middle of the night a lot. I still think it's because I'm so used to sleeping with you." Kurt said. He then blushed a bit. "It wasn't as bad for a little bit but your t-shirt stopped smelling like you."

"I am _so_ in love with you." Blaine sat up and looked down at Kurt, who blinked back up at him. "I don't think I could ever feel this way about someone else."

"You better not." Kurt said, leaning up and then poking Blaine's bare chest. "Otherwise you will have some serious explaining to do."

"What if I told you I was in love with David or Wes?"

"It's just not there. I would never believe that, Blaine. You would never be attracted to them."

"Hey! I had a _huge_ crush on Wes for like two days." Blaine objected.

"Wait. You think Wes is more attractive than David? Are you crazy?" Kurt scoffed, looking genuinely surprised. "You had a crush on him?"

"Believe me. It was short lived. Then I got to know him."

Kurt snorted loudly, leaning so that his face was buried in the bed. There was silence for several seconds before his shoulders started to shake with laughter.

"What?"

"I'm rubbing off on you. I-I'm so sorry. You must be impressionable." Kurt laughed and sat up. "I'm so sorry."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "You are not rubbing off on me."

"Yes. Yes, I am." Kurt nodded. "I am or I did. Whichever you prefer, but I have rubbed off on you."

"If you say so." Blaine laughed a bit and then slid back into a laying position, tracing the scar on Kurt's chest that led to his side. "I love you."

"I love you too." Kurt smiled at him.

Both boys jumped when there was a tap on the door.

"Yes?" Kurt called.

"Yep, they're alive!" They heard Taylor yell.

Kurt leaned over the side of the bed, grabbing his boxers and t-shirt off of the floor. "It's a good thing this was a pajama shirt from Old Navy, Blaine Anderson. If you'd wrinkled my good shirt, you'd be staying with Wes or David this week."

"You weren't complaining when I ripped it off and started slamming—."

"What was that? I can't quite hear you, Blaine!" Taylor called.

"Taylor!" Kurt yelled, scrambling to get dressed. "Blaine, put pants on!"

"I was able to make that one out. Way to go, boys. You want to do it as often as possible. Christmas break is still three weeks away. Make the memories last."

Kurt threw the door open when they were both dressed, glaring darkly.

"Hey, Kurtsie." Taylor grinned.

"Could you be any louder?" Kurt hissed.

"What? Everyone else is outside."

"Phew." Blaine said, straightening his shirt.

"You better be saying phew. Burt may love you, but I don't know how he'd react to you ripping Kurt's pajamas off and slamming—slamming what exactly? Into Kurt? Kurt into the wall before ravaging him? Kurt into the headboard? But that might scratch the paint and I can't picture Kurt liking that too much. Or did you slam your toe into the door?" Taylor asked.

Kurt glared while Blaine grinned sheepishly.

"Or maybe you slammed a book on the desk." Taylor continued. "Or a—."

"Taylor, stop harassing them!" They heard Kurt's Aunt Paige call from somewhere downstairs.

"You take everything fun and ruin it!" Taylor mock sobbed as she retreated from the room.

"How is your family so perfect?" Blaine asked.

"I think you mean dysfunctional." Kurt laughed, taking a few steps towards Blaine.

"Blaine, Kurt!" Carole called moments later after they heard a door close.

"BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINE, KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURT!" Melody yelled shortly after. "BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINE, KUUUUUUUUUUURT! BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINE, KUUUUUUUUURT!"

"Melody!" Burt said in an attempt to shush her.

"MELOOOOOOODY!"

"I rest my case." Kurt gestured down the stairs. "Should we go and join the madness?"

"Kiss me first." Blaine demanded.

"We should… probably brush our teeth first." Kurt said, holding up a hand.

"Fair enough." Blaine shrugged, making his way to the bathroom.

* * *

"Look who is back! I was beginning to think you and Kurt had broken up and that you weren't really at Harvard!" Kurt's grandmother Annie said early the next morning when Blaine walked into the living room half asleep.

Blaine gave her a one armed hug, yawning. He then stepped away and looked at the clock over the sink.

"Yes. Time does exist before nine in the morning." Kurt's grandfather Andy chuckled.

"I have a class at seven in the morning two days a week." Blaine responded.

"This one is worse than Kurt about waking up, Dad." Burt said walking into the living room. "He'll get up, but I don't think he's fully awake for an hour or two."

"And Kurt's the opposite. It takes him forever to get up but once he's up, he's up." Annie said. "I remember that from when he would stay with us."

"Forever and 37 days." Blaine mumbled, making his way to the coffee pot.

"That's a bad, bad road to go down." Andy said.

"Yeah. Wouldn't want to stunt my growth." Blaine snorted.

"We like this one." Annie laughed.

"No one more than Carole." Burt chuckled.

"What about Carole?" Carole asked, bustling into the room. "You two are already here!"

"I made a comment on the fact that you've adopted Blaine." Burt said gruffly, nodding towards Blaine who was now sitting next to Andy.

"You're awake, hon!"

"Kurt kicked me awake… and then I smelled food." Blaine said.

"Kicked you?" Annie laughed.

"I guess he's gotten used to not shari…" Blaine trailed off and took a drink of his coffee, looking down and blushing.

"Like we don't know you two have slept in a bed." Andy shrugged. "You want to hear something bad? Taylor and Paige met by… what do they call it these days?"

"Hooking up." Burt answered.

"Does Kurt know this?" Blaine laughed.

"He thinks they met at a grocery store." Burt said.

"See, they kept running into each other after the… 'hook up.'" Annie explained. "Eventually they ended up together. Now they've broken up a few times—as you know—but they're very good together given the…. Circumstances of how they met."

"Andy brought up my sex life again, I see." Taylor said coming into the kitchen. "It's his favorite holiday subject when there isn't mass chaos."

"What on Earth are you doing up?" Kurt's grandfather asked.

"Paige is snoring. And some dog kept licking my toes."

"That would be my fault. He ran out of the room when I came in here." Blaine cringed. "Sorry."

"Oh, I'm more than used to annoying dogs." Taylor sat at the table too. "How long do we have before Kurtsie wakes up?"

"Three minutes ago." Kurt chirped, coming into the room and immediately sitting on Blaine's lap. "Good morning, babe."

"Good morning." Blaine smiled and kissed him.

Andy cleared his throat.

"Grammy! Grandpa!" Kurt exclaimed, jumping up and hugging both of them. "Oh, God. And Blaine's down here too… You haven't been torturing him, right?"

"Not too much. I stopped after telling him about the bodies of your ex-boyfriends buried in our backyard." Andy said with a serious expression on his face.

"Yes because there are so many." Kurt rolled his eyes and situated himself on Blaine's lap again. "You went to bed after me. I can't believe you woke up first."

"You kicked me." Blaine pouted. "I'm probably going to have a bruise on my leg. There may already be one. For someone so bony, you're strong."

"I'm sorry." Kurt said, nuzzling him.

"So how is long distance working for you two?" Annie asked. "You seem to be doing fine."

"It's alright." Kurt shrugged, looking down. He absolutely hated the whole Derek situation. While they hadn't talked about it since the day before, he knew Blaine well enough to know that the discussion wasn't over with. He also hated that Blaine got upset. He knew it wasn't even anger or over jealousy.

Deep down, he knew it was Blaine being afraid Kurt would leave him… for someone else, or period. As tough as the long distance was, though, Kurt couldn't picture his life without Blaine in it. Not at all. Even for a week. Kurt was never going to leave him.

"Three years will be over before you know it. You're almost half way through one!" Carole smiled. "It will be hard work, of course, but you two love each other."

Kurt smiled when he felt Blaine kiss the back of his shoulder.

"Now your father told us about your internship. What do you do exactly?" Kurt's grandfather asked interestedly.

"Nothing too exciting. Just stuff that other people are too lazy to do. Make invitations to stuff, update contact lists, and cut fabric. Sometimes they let me watch them in action. They use advanced computer programs and some of the people there are really talented when you consider it's only here in Ohio." Kurt said, perking up and speaking quickly. "And my supervisor knows someone who works for Parsons—the school I'm going to next year— and apparently internships with that guy always turn into real jobs."

"Do you work with any cute boys?" Annie teased.

Kurt felt Blaine tense up so he kissed his cheek. "Nobody looks cute compared to Blaine."

Blaine smiled.

"It's mostly girls, though." Kurt continued. "There are two guys and I've never even talked to one of them. Now that I think about it, I kind of wish I didn't talk to the other one either…"

"Girls aren't very threatening to you, are they, Blaine?" Andy laughed.

"No, sir." Blaine laughed himself, loosening his grip on Kurt when he moved to stand.

"I'm going to go and help Carole get some stuff started." Kurt said before quickly kissing Blaine.

"Where did you put the—."

"By the microwave, dear. I'll bring it to you." Kurt let out a mock sigh.

"What are you wanting?" Burt asked.

"Potato candy. What else?"

…

"The dishes are _finally_ done." Blaine announced, making his way into Kurt's old bedroom and grabbing his bag off of the desk chair and placing it on the bed. "And I'm going to get ready and head out."

"Head out?" Kurt, who was sitting on the floor and teasing Oreo with a piece of yawn, looked up. "Where to?"

"I told you that I wanted to see Wes and David's family." Blaine said, unzipping his bag and looking through his clothes.

"Wait. You meant _today_?" Kurt asked, standing and walking over.

"It's Thanksgiving. I kind of want to see them today." Blaine shrugged. "We're done with lunch and they always have dinner, so I thought I would go since I know everyone will be there. David's sister will probably leave tomorrow."

"I just didn't think you meant today…" Kurt reached down and pulled out a sweater before holding it out for Blaine.

"Your grandmother said that she didn't want to work on the tree until tomorrow. She's taking a nap." Blaine took the sweater and pulled it on over his t-shirt.

"Well, are you coming back home tonight? It's already three and it's going to take you probably two hours to even get to Westerville in holiday traffic." Kurt bit his lip and looked at Blaine. "I thought we would get to spend the rest of the day together."

"I haven't spent Thanksgiving with either of them in five years and it would mean a lot to them if I came. You can come and see them with me. I think they'd like that."

"Yes but my _family_ is here to visit us."

"They're here to visit _you_."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're part of this family just like Taylor is."

"And Taylor has been on the phone with her dad for an hour." Blaine pointed out. "Because she's _here_ with Paige."

"She always—."

"David and Wes' family means a lot to me, Kurt. And I haven't been seeing them enough." Blaine interrupted. "Because we moved to Cincinnati and I got preoccupied with school. Now I live really far away. If I'm in the state, I'm going to go and see them."

"Why can't you just go all day tomorrow?"

"Because I want to see them! I don't expect you to understand how I feel about it because you haven't—you haven't been in the position that I was in, okay? They took me in time after time after time. They supported me, they—."

"So did we."

"I realize that. But they _saved my life_."

"Okay and maybe _you_ helped to save mine and maybe _I_ would like to spend time with you on a holiday is meant to be spent with the people you're _thankful_ for." Kurt said, voice higher than normal. "Because I still used to be that sixteen year old lost boy that met you at Dalton sick of everything that was going on."

"And I'm staying the whole break with you. I'm living here over winter break and spring break and summer break." Blaine moved over to him, touching his face.

"No, don't."

"Why not?" Blaine moved his hand down and tickled Kurt's side, making him squirm. He then grabbed Kurt's hand, squeezing. "I just want to see them. They're like my family too. Do you want to come?"

"I can't. Everyone is here." Kurt sighed.

"Okay." Blaine nodded. "I'll try to be back tonight. I'll call you when I'm on my way, alright?"

"Alright… I guess I'll see you later tonight or in the morning. Drive safely, okay?"

"Always do, my love." Blaine kissed him quickly. "Don't miss me too terribly."

Kurt rolled his eyes and scooped up Kreacher who ran across the room. He looked at Kreacher when Blaine was out of the room. "Daddy just keeps leaving us, huh?"

Kreacher yipped loudly, wiggling until he was facing the open door and howling loudly.

"That's right. You tell him." Kurt squeezed him. "You'll never leave me, huh?"

Kreacher yipped again and licked his face.

"God, your breath is horrible."

* * *

"Are you annoyed with me?"

"I am a little annoyed." Blaine admitted the next morning. "I just wish you'd reacted a little differently to me going to see Wes and David's family. They're very close to me. I feel like you don't understand just how much they mean to me and I think that after five years you should be a little more clued in."

"It's not that I don't understand how much they mean to you. I do. I just—."

"Think that I should have spent the whole day with your family. _Your_ family." Blaine looked at him. "Did Burt care that I went to see them? Or Carole? Did your grandparents or your aunts?"

"No." Kurt said.

"So why was it such a big deal to _you_?"

"Because I wanted to spend time with you."

"You could have come with me." Blaine walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bagel. "You chose not to."

"But you're only here for a few days." Kurt sighed.

"We don't have to be attached at the hip!"

"You live thirteen hours away! I can't even see you when you're here?"

"I was gone nine hours, Kurt! You can go out with Alec and some guy who clearly wants in your pants but I can't go out with my best friends who I've known longer than I've known you and eat dinner with their family?"

"He doesn't want in my pants." Kurt scoffed.

"No, Kurt. Because the first time I touched your leg, _I_ wasn't thinking about what was just a few inches up." Blaine said sarcastically.

"You're acting like I'm stupid."

"No. You're not stupid. You're very smart, just innocent and oblivious. You have _no_ grasp on how attractive you are. People _want_ you, Kurt. People—like Derek—would love in your pants just to say they did!"

"No one is going to get into my pants!"

"Maybe I'm afraid you're going to get yourself into a situation that you can't handle."

"I'm not a little kid! I handled myself _fine_ the other day!"

"I hate to interrupt, boys, but Melody is awake and she really doesn't need to hear you two arguing." Burt said gruffly, coming in. "I'm not getting involved. Just take it somewhere else."

Kurt grabbed his car keys off of the counter and left out the back door, leaving it open for Blaine to follow.

"Sorry." Blaine mumbled to Burt before following Kurt and quietly closed the door behind him.

"Everything okay, lovers?" Paige, who was getting something from her car, asked cheerfully.

"Just peachy." Kurt said, yanking his car door open.

"Ouch." Paige cringed and went back inside.

"So what? Is this going to turn into the Alec fight again? Like you said we wouldn't?" Kurt asked., turning his car on and cranking the heat up. "Because if this is what happens every time I come across a gay guy who is interested in me, you're going to lead a really frustrating life since I'm going to become a _designer_."

Blaine glared outside the window, not speaking. If Kurt wasn't being so secretive, it wouldn't be a damn issue. That's what bothered him the most. What else was Kurt withholding about other things? Blaine didn't hide stuff—Well, unless you counted applying to Harvard, but that was different.

"I'm serious, Blaine. I'm not going to spend the rest of my life fighting with you anytime someone makes a move on me. You are a very, very jealous person sometimes." Kurt said, sounding harsher than he intended. "And I really don't appreciate how you turned the fight into this, either. And _now_ my dad knows we're fighting so he's going to be worried about us."

"This has nothing to do with my jealousy!" Blaine exclaimed. "You keep talking to me like I'm five years old! This has nothing to do with jealousy, alright? It has something to do with the fact that I thought I could trust you but you can't even tell me what happened with this Derek guy."

"So you think you can't trust me?"

"I don't think _that_. I just…" Blaine trailed off.

"Are you _that_ afraid that I'm going to just walk off with the first person who shows any interest in me?" Kurt asked, staring at Blaine.

Blaine didn't speak. Instead, he made a huffing noise and then swallowed.

"I don't want anyone else." Kurt sighed, playing with his key chain that was hanging from his steering wheel. "I want _you_."

"I feel bad for leaving." Blaine finally sighed, tucking a leg under him. "I don't like to be away from you. I worry that you're mad and you'll..."

"What?"

"Realize that maybe I'm not worth it."

Kurt shook his head, looking out the window. He tried to think of words to say but all he could do was blink outside and grasp for words that weren't there.

"I'm sorry. I can't help but… react this way. I'm really afraid of… losing you." Blaine continued after a few minutes. "Sometimes it feels like you're all I have. I know that sounds clingy but I'm so happy with you. I don't want that to end, Kurt."

"It's not _going_ to." Kurt faced him, reaching over and grabbing his hand. "This separation is only temporary and in the grand scheme of things, it won't matter."

"You have to make it through the present to get to the grand scheme."

"You have got to have more faith in us. In me. If you don't, we're never going to make it."

"How am I supposed to have faith in us when this huge thing happened and you won't even tell me everything?" Blaine asked.

"I don't want your feelings to get hurt."

"They won't. Please. What exactly did you two talk about before he started… doing that stuff?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Blaine." Kurt sighed.

"I just really want to know, alright?" Blaine looked him in the eye. "I want to know everything you two talked about."

"Fine, but you've got to understand that I only didn't want to tell you because I don't want you to feel guilty. I don't feel this way." Kurt said very seriously.

"Alright." Blaine gave a small nod.

"He asked why I hadn't gone to Parsons for both degrees. I told him that I had wanted to be closer to you." Kurt looked down. "I had gotten in. I had applied for early admissions and had sent my application not long before the attack… But so much was going on and I really wanted to be with you. He brought up that…"

"Wait, what? You applied to Parsons your senior year? You were accepted? And you didn't go?" Blaine interrupted.

"You know as well as I do that I've been a completely different person since the attack, Blaine." Kurt sighed. "I wanted to stay close to home, close to you. Besides, I knew I could always go to Parsons for my graduate degree. It didn't seem like a big deal."

"I can't believe you never told me this."

"You got cut off financially because of me. Your life was in disarray. I wasn't going to turn your life upside down and then leave you without a home. Besides, I _never_ would have been able to handle Parsons. I barely handled the first year of CCAD." Kurt said very seriously. "I know I made the right decision. I didn't want you or Rachel or Mercedes to try to talk me out of it."

"What else then?" Blaine asked. "Concerning Derek?"

"He brought up that I… stayed to be closer to you and you repaid me by leaving me to go to Harvard. He said stuff about how you could have waited a year…" Kurt scowled. "It made me so mad, Blaine. I told him that you shouldn't have to wait a year for me because you had done so much during the attack."

"Wait. You told this guy that you barely know about your attack? Have you even told _Alec?"_ Blaine interrupted again. _They_ barely talked about the attack and Blaine had been right by his side from the very first night in the hospital. And now Kurt was just opening up about it to someone who… What?

"I was mad and it just kind of… came out. I never intended to tell anyone about the attack." Kurt explained. "And after that he tried to start in again on how you should have waited…. That's when he touched my leg. We… I told him that I would never leave you for anyone, especially someone like him, I stood up and I left. End of story. That's everything that happened, Blaine."

"Do you think I should have waited a year?"

"This is why I didn't want to tell you what he said. You over analyze everything—I know, it's the English major in you, I know." Kurt said. "No. I think you should have gone to Harvard when you did. You already put your life on hold for me before but I won't let you do it again."

"Am I a horrible boyfriend?"

"Only when you roll away during the winter when we're asleep. Our apartment was always really cold." Kurt teased.

Blaine cracked a hint of a smile. It wasn't as if he'd thought something like _that_ had happened, but hearing everything from Kurt made him feel better. But still, Kurt tended to be secretive

"Look, I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to make it seem like I… I just…. I think you should see them because I know they mean a lot to you… David's dad saved your life. I'd be stupid to not know they meant a lot. I was being selfish and I'm sorry. I'm glad you went to see them. I shouldn't have tried to keep you to myself. I was being selfish."

"I'm sorry I have a tendency to get jealous— _even if that's not what this is about_."

"I suppose we'll have to work a few things to work on if we want to make it through these next few years." Kurt said, turning the heat in his car down just a bit because he was starting to get too hot.

"I can tell you one thing. This being apart is definitely a test of our love." Blaine remarked. "Do you think we're passing?"

"I think we could use some work." Kurt admitted. "This week we're probably at a C."

"We better fix that then. I want an A by the end of the semester." Blaine joked. He then added very seriously, "But I do want to be better. I want us to work. We… We have to work."

"We would be a worse couple if we never fought over the distance." Kurt reassured him. "Alec said that he and Eric fought a lot at first."

"I hate fights." Blaine groaned. "I hate fighting with you, Kurt."

"I particularly enjoy them." Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand again. "The only part I don't enjoy is that you're too far away for makeup sex and that you won't do anything over Skype."

"Wes came in, alright? I'm _horrified_."

"Oh, come on. You hadn't even unbuttoned your pants. If you hadn't turned a red, babbling mess he would have thought you were just talking to me shirtless." Kurt rolled his eyes.

"That was _traumatizing_." Blaine actually shuddered. "He still makes fun of me for that. And he told _David_. So David keeps asking how our new level of the long distance relationship is going and whether or not my orgasms are still satisfactory when they're made at my own hand."

"You say I'm innocent, yet I maintained a straight face the _whole time_. You gave us away. I don't want to hear it. 'I was… uh… It… GO AWAY!'" Kurt laughed loudly, remembering Wes' amused expressions and the way he had begun to chant 'Get it' over and over followed by 'At least one of us should get some kind of sexual satisfaction!'

"I didn't think anybody was home!" Blaine blurted.

"What does it _matter_?" Kurt asked. "You were the same way when we lived here with my Dad."

Blaine looked at him as if he was crazy. "If you had Burt as a dad, would you have sex with me regularly under his roof?"

"You didn't have a problem with it the night before last if I recall correctly." Kurt remarked.

"This is why I have a proposition for you."

"Proposition?" Kurt asked.

"Christmas break. I come down right after finals and we stay until after Christmas."

"Okay?"

"And after Christmas we stay in Boston. In my apartment. Asshole will be gone the whole break. Wes and his family won't even be in the country until January 21st which is two days before Harvard starts back up. We can really spend some time together and… won't have to worry about not have sex because your dad is in the house."

"Carole may be sad you won't be here the whole break. She misses you." Kurt said. "What if we spent two weeks in Boston?"

"What if we spent a third week… in New York?"

"Wait, what?" Kurt asked.

"What if we spent a week in New York? We can go on Parson's campus, go around… you've always wanted to go. Let's do it." Blaine smiled at him. "I want to take you to New York. We'll see Rent, we'll stay in a really nice hotel, and we'll see everything that you want to see, do everything you want to do."

"Blaine, we don't have that kind of money." Kurt said.

"I am going to take you to New York City. Meaning I am going to pay."

Kurt's hand flew to his mouth and he stared at Blaine with huge eyes.

"Will you let me?" Blaine tilted his head and gave Kurt an adorable smile.

"It's too much, Blaine."

"It's just enough." Blaine argued. "It's what I want to do. You gave me Michigan; I'm giving you New York. You don't have to worry about anything. You just have to be ready to leave when we go to catch the flight there."

Kurt nodded, eyes still big. "We're going to New York? For a… for a week?"

"Yeah." Blaine smiled at him. "Just promise to come back with me."

"You are _so_ getting laid tonight, Blaine." Kurt leaned over, kissing him eagerly. He then snapped, "Stop acting like Wes." when Blaine raised his fist into the air triumphantly.


	7. Chapter 7

After having gone nearly a month without seeing Kurt, Blaine tiptoed into Kurt's house after quietly unlocking the door. Although he had flown into Ohio with Wes and was _supposed_ to drive to Lima the following morning, he had managed to talk Wes into driving him home in the middle of the night. Of course he knew Kurt would be asleep, but that would make the surprise that much better.

He very quietly pushed open Kurt's bedroom door and smiled, seeing Kurt fast asleep wearing one of Blaine's Harvard t-shirts and clutching a body pillow to his chest. Kurt's chest rose and fell as he breathed and he rubbed at his nose before letting out a little sigh.

"You are the most adorable person ever." Blaine whispered before tiptoeing to the bed and climbing onto it. How would he do this? Just lie down and see how long it took Kurt to wake up on his own? But what if Kurt didn't wake up? It would be pretty disappointing to lay there for five or six hours without any reaction from Kurt. No. He was definitely going to have to wake Kurt up.

Blaine took hold of Kurt's blanket and shook it a bit, making sure to shake the blanket that was wedged between Kurt's side and arm so his boyfriend would feel it. Luckily, it worked.

"Mmmmh, stop it." Kurt moaned, pulling the covers over his face.

Blaine grinned and shook the blanket again, this time a little harder.

"No." Kurt whined, rolling onto his side.

"Yes." Blaine whispered, smile growing. Kurt was going to _flip out_ when he saw that Blaine was home several hours early. He'd been eagerly awaiting this moment for over an hour. And it was finally here.

"No." Kurt responded, stretching out and then curling into a ball, body pillow falling off of the other side of the bed.

"Surprise." Blaine whispered in his ear, pulling the covers down.

" _Blaine_!" Kurt's eyes opened and he threw his arms around Blaine's neck, pulling the older boy down on top of him. "What are you doing here? Oh my God!"

"I know I flew out with Wes and was going to spend the night at his house but I couldn't be away from the man I love for another hour longer. I made him bring me home." Blaine responded before kissing Kurt hard on the mouth.

Kurt moaned, his hand going to stroke Blaine's cheek as he eagerly kissed back. He was too sleepy to fully register what was happening, but he didn't need to be fully awake to know that Blaine was _here_ , and much sooner than he was supposed to be. God, he loved Blaine Anderson.

Blaine pulled away several long moments later and smiled adorably. "Hi."

"Hey, babe." Kurt smiled, hand still on Blaine's cheek. "I missed you."

"And I missed you more." Blaine leaned down, kissing his forehead.

Kurt's smile grew and he stroked his fingers up and down Blaine's cheek again, staring into his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Two in the morning."

"Oh man, I bet Wes was pissed." Kurt laughed sleepily. Was he dreaming? No, he wasn't. Right?

"He didn't mind. I think he was surprised I didn't ask sooner." Blaine grinned. "Want to do something?"

"Do something? It's two in the morning." Kurt yawned, running his fingers through Blaine's curly hair.

"I know." Blaine pressed his nose against Kurt's.

"Your nose is cold." Kurt shivered before reaching up and rubbing Blaine's nose.

"That's because it's cold outside." Blaine said, scrunching his nose up.

Kurt mock gasped. "Really? It's December in Ohio and _cold_?"

"I know! I was shocked too!"

Kurt lowered his hand and then hugged Blaine. "Okay, I'll bite. What do you want to do?"

"Let's go for a walk." Blaine rolled off of Kurt and climbed out of the bed. "It's so pretty out right now because it just started to snow."

"Really? You want to go for a walk?" Kurt pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Really." Blaine smiled.

Kurt got out of bed and went to his closet, sliding into some boots and pulling on a jacket. "Only for you, Blaine Anderson."

Blaine's smile turned into a grin. "You love me so much."

"That's what you think." Kurt pulled on his gloves and draped a scarf over his neck. "C'mon. Don't forget your keys."

Blaine waved his keys a bit before dropping them into his coat pocket and pulling it back on.

"I'm glad you came early… even if you did decide that early had to mean the middle of the night." Kurt said once they made it outside, linking hands with Blaine.

"I missed you." Blaine said, squeezing his hand. "I always miss you, but knowing you were an hour and a half away… that was torture."

"I know. I went to sleep early just so time would go by faster." Kurt admitted a little bashfully.

"Aww, you're so cute." Blaine kissed his cheek and then looked up at the sky. "Isn't it pretty out?"

"It's beautiful." Kurt nodded in agreement.

Blaine walked around the yard. "So my finals went really well. I'm pretty sure I've retaken my spot as the number one student."

"I didn't know you'd lost it?" Kurt asked, eyebrow arching.

"Well I kind of botched a mock trial at the beginning of the semester and I slipped up on a quiz, but it worked out." Blaine shrugged. "You're short boyfriend may make something of himself after all, Kurt."

"You already have." Kurt said very seriously.

"That's very sweet." Blaine said, approaching him.

"I can be sweet occasionally, you know?" Kurt asked, before letting out a loud shriek as Blaine pushed a snowball in his face. "BLAINE ANDERSON!"

Blaine stepped back a few feet while Kurt wiped his face off, doubling over in laughter. He wanted to store the shocked look on Kurt's face in his mind forever.

"BLAINE! THAT WASN'T FUNNY!"

"Wasn't. You're right. 'Cause it still is!" Blaine laughed.

Kurt gathered snow in his hands but didn't even roll it into a ball, attempting to throw it at Blaine.

"Go-Good job." Blaine snorted, standing up straight. "I think a flake or two hit m— _my_ nose _!"_

"Now what was that?" Kurt questioned, head tilting up as he dusted his snowy hands off. "What were you saying?"

"Where did you learn to throw like that?" Blaine gaped.

"My dad was a football player. I learned a thing or two." Kurt said before throwing another snowball at Blaine and hitting him square in the chest. "Didn't I tell you about my stint on the football team in high school?"

"You're going _down_ , Hummel!" Blaine said, stretching his arms out and then—

"NO!" Kurt yelped as Blaine chased him into the back yard.

"What the hell is going on out—here?" Burt, who had rushed out while half asleep, trailed off. "Oh. It's just Kurt and Blaine, Carole."

Blaine, who had Kurt pinned to the ground and was about to gather more snowballs while Kurt was stuck, looked up and grinned sheepishly. "Snowball fight."

"At three in the morning?" Burt asked.

"Want to joi—ow, Kurt!" Blaine whined, rubbing his side. "That hurt. If you didn't want guests, you could have been a little more subt— _Ow_!"

"Sorry, Dad." Kurt said, smiling sweetly. "We'll keep it down."

"When both of you freeze to death, don't complain to me." Was all Burt said before disappearing inside the house.

"Now my dad thinks we're like annoying12 year old couples." Kurt huffed, attempting to sit up without any luck.

"We are. You'll have to just accept that." Blaine straddled him. "Are you cold?"

"I'm laying outside on the ground and it's snowing. What do you think?"

"I think you'd rather be laying out here with me than in your warm bed without me." Blaine grinned.

"You're awfully full of yourself." Kurt said, putting his hands on Blaine's waist. "But you're right."

Blaine stood and pulled Kurt up. "Do you still want to go for a walk?"

"As long as you don't pin me to the cold ground again, yes."

"At least the snow isn't sticking too much." Blaine took his hand and began walking down the street with him. "So what's the plan for the trip?"

"Eventually we're going to have to tell Dad and Carole that we're going to New York for the last part of our break." Kurt said, squeezing Blaine's hand and falling into step with Blaine. "I told Rachel we'll be visiting and—oh, stop with the face. She's my best friend. Apart from you, of course."

"I didn't make a face. I think I'm above making a face when you mention her name."

"Rachel." Kurt said, just to make a point. "Point proven."

"Damnit." Blaine huffed a bit. "It's force of habit. Don't judge me."

"I'll never understand it." Kurt shook his head. "Considering you two went on a date and had 'lots of fun.'"

"Yes, well…" Blaine shrugged. "I'm going to go with 'personality clash.'"

"My butt." Kurt said.

"What was that about your butt?" Blaine asked, tilting his head back and looking down.

"My God, Blaine." Kurt rolled his eyes.

"What? I haven't seen it in three whole weeks."

"Well I'm sure it looks amazing in these pajama pants." Kurt scoffed.

"We could always go home and get you into something that looks a little better. Or into _nothing_. That's when it looks best."

Kurt dropped Blaine's hand and slid his arm around Blaine's waist, turning them around so they were walking back to the house. "No, I'm not doing that because of what you said. It's really cold and your jacket is too thin."

Blaine shivered and scooted closer to Kurt. "I love you."

"I love you too." Kurt kissed his cheek before turning into their driveway. "We didn't make it very far."

"I didn't think we would." Blaine snorted. "Whoops, I think we dropped the keys."

" _What_?" Kurt asked sharply.

"Just kidding." Blaine grinned again and pulled them out of his pocket.

"You." Kurt sighed, playfully smacking his back as he unlocked the front door.

"Are precious and wonderful?" Blaine prompted.

"Get in there." Kurt laughed. "If you get pneumonia, you have nobody to complain to. Got that?"

"All the times I've taken care of you when you were sick? That's how I get repaid?"

Kurt nudged Blaine into the house and quickly shut the door behind him before pushing him into the closed door and crashing his lips against Blaine's.

"Interesting turn of even—Okay, okay!" Blaine yelped and slid his arms around Kurt's waist, pressing close to him.

Coming home early and in the middle of the night was definitely a good idea.

* * *

Kurt really needed to get in the habit of locking his bedroom door. This was something he hadn't had to worry about when living alone with Blaine. Though he'd been living back at home with his dad and Carole since August, he still hadn't quite remembered the importance of locking that door. Especially considering the fact that half of the time Blaine was over… Well, half of the time they didn't exactly sleep fully or even partially clothed.

Fortunately it was winter and cold, so pajamas had been put on milliseconds before Kurt and Blaine fell asleep the previous night. Very fortunately considering Burt and Melody made their way into Kurt's bedroom the next morning without even thinking to knock.

"Get 'em!"

Kurt pulled the covers up over his head upon hearing his father's voice. "Dad!"

"TICKLE TICKLE!" Little Melody shouted soon after, swatting Kurt's shoulders. Clearly she didn't quite grasp the idea of what tickling was. "TICKLE!"

"I don't think it's working, Mel. Try Blaine." Burt said, leaning down and turning Melody's body to the other direction. "Quick! Before he wakes up!"

"Oh my God." Kurt grunted as Melody pounced onto Blaine's chest. "Dad, you're killing me here."

"Oh God." Blaine gasped, having been startled out of his sleep. He attempted to sit up but it didn't work too well for him seeing as there was a child sitting on his chest.

"It's not God. Just a demon child." Kurt responded, rolling onto his side facing Blaine and Melody. He then looked up in the direction of Burt, who looked rather proud of himself. Kurt had never been more thankful for putting his clothes back on after sex. Never. "Dad, really?"

"We're going Christmas shopping. Would you two like to go with us?" Burt chuckled as Melody climbed off of Blaine (eliciting more than a few grunts from Blaine who was still half asleep).

"SANTA!" Melody shrieked, beginning to jump up and down on the foot of the bed. "SANTA! SANTA, KURT AND BLAINE!"

"My ears." Blaine moaned, pulling his pillow over his head.

"I forgot someone in the house wasn't used to mornings being so loud." Burt laughed.

"Burt, why would you start this two hours before we're leaving?" Carole asked coming into the room. "Melody, honey, Kurt and Blaine _were_ trying to sleep. Burt, you're horrible. Look at the poor boys."

"Kurt and Blaine see Santa." Melody protested, sitting on Blaine's knee. She then proceeded to pat his leg until he lowered the pillow and waved at her.

"I don't want to g-o." Kurt said, giving his father a pointed look.

"Why not?" Blaine asked.

"Have you seen the lines to see Santa?" Kurt questioned, turning to look at Blaine as though he was insane. Why would he _want_ to spend half of his whole first day with Blaine in line to see a mall Santa? He would have much rather stay in bed with Blaine, fooling around or just being lazy. Definitely not standing in line with several annoying children.

"Actually, I haven't." Blaine admitted.

Carole and Kurt stared at Blaine in shock. Burt, however, muttered, "Lucky kid."

"Do you want to go, Blaine?" Kurt asked after several seconds, against his better judgment. He already knew the answer though. Blaine wanted to go. Whether or not to actually see Santa or to just spend time with Kurt and his family, Kurt wasn't sure. But he knew Blaine wanted to go.

Blaine shrugged. "It's whatever. We don't have to go."

"Alright, alright. I'll go." Kurt crawled out of bed, having to maneuver around Melody who had begun flailing excitedly in the middle of the bed. "Dad, did you give her sugar?"

"I didn't _give_ it to her. She took it upon herself to find some." Burt said, scooping Melody up before she could accidentally could kick Blaine in the nose. "C'mon, squirt. We're going to give the boys a chance to get ready so we can go see Santa."

"SANTA!" Melody shrieked as Burt carried her out of the room.

"Yes, Santa, Santa!" They heard Burt saying, although he sounded much less enthusiastic.

"Why does he always give her sugar so early?" Carole asked, exasperated. "It's like he wants to live in a madhouse."

"Because he's a pushover." Kurt responded as she left the room.

"I think she's cute." Blaine said before yawning.

"Well we'll see how cute she is after sitting in a car with her like that for half an hour on the way to the mall." Kurt gave him a sweet smile.

Blaine's eyes widened in horror. "We're not driving separately?"

"Good luck trying to explain that to my father." Kurt leaned down and patted Blaine's head. "I'll make sure to prepare a lovely funeral for you."

Blaine fell back into a laying position, groaning. "This is entirely my fault."

"Entirely. We could have pulled the 'we want to spend time together' card but you blew it." Kurt smiled sweetly again and kissed the top of his head. "Maybe you can get a picture with Santa too!"

"Go away." Blaine swatted at him. "You've just ruined my life."

"You're going to have tons of fun being a daddy, Blaine." Kurt laughed before making his way out of the room.

"Hey, where are you going?" Blaine whined.

"You told me to go away so I'm going to take a shower." Kurt poked his head back in. "You could join me."

Burt cleared his throat from the hallway.

"God it's like I'm banned from s-e-x." Kurt whined before leaving the room. "This sucks."

…

"Eric!" Kurt exclaimed a few hours later that same day, tilting his head to the side. He was _pretty_ sure it was Eric but Alec was nowhere to be seen and Kurt had never seen Eric with his hair unfixed.

The Eric in question jumped, quickly hiding a shopping bag behind his back.

"It _is_ Eric! What are you doing here?" Kurt questioned, going up to Eric and dragging Blaine behind him. "Hey, what's behind you? Is Alec here?"

"Oh! It's you two. You shouldn't run up on people like that." Eric laughed, waving his other hand. "Alec is somewhere. I had to get his Christmas present."

"What is it?" Kurt asked curiously, trying to look behind Eric at the bag.

"I think _you're_ the one that should be a lawyer." Eric laughed. "Hey, Blaine. How are you?"

"I'm doing really good. How are you?" Blaine asked, feeling like his entire life in Ohio was now never ending questions about how school and life was. Maybe he could remedy that by acting so happy that they wouldn't even ask, but that felt like too much work.

"Great." Eric slipped the small bag into a bigger bag nonchalantly as Alec ran up.

"What are you all doing here? Blaine, I love your sweater. Where did you get it?" Alec said quickly.

"Don't make him answer that. Please." Kurt moaned. "At least not in public."

"Old Navy." Blaine responded, making his voice louder for emphasis. "It was—say it with me, Kurt. No? Oh, okay. I'll say it.— On sale."

"You guys are funny." Alec laughed, lacing hands with Eric.

"He tries." Blaine giggled, nudging Kurt.

"I would be asleep but Blaine wanted to see Santa. My parents are in line with my sister." Kurt explained, pointing in the direction of the waiting line that wrapped around the hall and into a Dillard's.

"Sister?" Alec gasped. "Your sister is here?"

"Oh my God." Eric groaned. "Lie and say no."

"Can I meet her?" Alec asked eagerly, looking excited. "I _love_ kids!"

"Sure. Just don't mention anything to do with Bed Time Baby." Kurt said very seriously.

"Bed Time Baby?" Alec raised his eyebrow. "What's that?"

"The new big baby doll." Kurt sighed. "She's getting it from Santa but she goes insane if she hears about it."

" _Bed time for baby and me_." Eric mimicked the commercial, cringing as they began to walk.

" _You'll love it as much as baby!"_ Blaine added. "I highly doubt that."

"I would like to murder the person who thought up that jingle. How have you not seen that commercial, Alec?" Eric looked at Alec.

"Shit. You think I have time to sit and watch TV?" Alec scoffed. "I barely have time to get homework done, sleep, eat, and breathe. I have to catch up on my shows on winter, spring, and summer break."

"KURT AND BLAINE!" Melody shrieked as they got closer.

"Two guesses which one is Kurt's sister." Eric laughed. "Bet you I only need one."

Kurt ran up to Melody, scooping Melody out of Burt's arms. "Dad, Carole, this is Alec and Eric."

"Hello." Alec and Eric said together.

"HELLO!" Melody said, reaching for Alec.

"Oh, don't let him hold her. He'll never give her back." Eric teased as Alec took Melody.

"Don't worry. Melody will want someone else to hold her in a few minutes. She likes to spread the love." Blaine said, tickling Melody's tummy.

"How long have you all been in the line?" Alec asked Burt and Carole.

"Two hours." Burt sighed.

"You're the one who wanted to come." Carole pointed out, waving at Melody and booping her nose.

"Is that your mommy?" Alec asked, smiling brightly at Melody.

"That's my momma." Melody told Alec. "Who is you?"

"My name is Alec. I go to school with Kurt." Alec explained. "What's your name?"

"Melody." Melody responded before nuzzling his shoulder. She then sat up and pointed at Eric. "Who is that?"

"I don't know. He's been following me around for eight years. I think he's lost." Alec grinned. "Do you want him?"

"Noooo!" Melody giggled, shaking her head and looking around for her daddy.

Eric laughed. "He's not going to make me come home with you, sweetheart."

"Blaine comes home with me sometimes." Melody rambled. "But sometimes he goes to dog school."

"Law school." Carole corrected, laughing.

"He goes to dog school 'cause he wants to be a dogger." Melody continued, ignoring her mother. "And Kurt draws."

"I draw too." Alec said. "But Kurt draws better."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "We're both battling for the top spot."

"So _you're_ the one he spent an entire year trying to beat out." Burt grinned.

"Oh my God." Kurt covered his face. "Dad, please."

"Yep. He used to hate me and now I'm around him more than my boyfriend. Go figure." Alec laughed.

"Do you live on campus?" Carole asked him, pushing down one of Blaine's unruly curls.

"Pretty close to it. If I'm feeling adventurous, I could walk to class." Alec said, laughing as Blaine swatted her hand away and then ran his own hand through his hair.

"He never feels adventurous, FYI." Eric cut in.

"Doesn't he remind you of Blaine?" Kurt asked Burt, pointing to Eric.

"I'm telling you. Lock them in a room alone for ten minutes and they'll become best friends. I've been saying this to you since the first time I saw Blaine when you were sick." Alec exclaimed. "Nobody ever listens to me. Stop miming with your hands, Eric. I swear. One of these days I'm going to leave you on the side of the road."

"Yeah until you get hungry and you've spent all of your money on vests. Then you'll call me."

"Yes. And after you give me your credit card, I'll send you off again."

"They sound married." Burt chuckled.

"Marriage. What a wonderful concept." Alec pointed at Eric, who merely stuck his tongue out. He then looked at Burt and Carole. "By the way, _he_ is the older one. By four years. Who would've known, right?"

"It's like a reality show." Blaine snorted. "Is this what we're like, Kurt?"

"Probably." Kurt laughed.

"I hate to say it, but we should probably go. We have a lot of frozen cookies to buy." Alec laughed as Eric passed Melody to Blaine.

"Okay. Call me and we'll all four get together after Blaine and I get back from our trip to New York." Kurt said, waving a bit.

"Will do." Alec smiled and then looked at Burt and Carole. "It was very nice to meet you all."

"You two too, hon." Carole smiled at them as Burt nodded.

"See you guys." Blaine said before blowing a raspberry on Melody's cheek, prompting loud giggles from her. "Say bye, pumpkin!"

"Bye bye." Melody waved before smacking her head against Blaine's and attempting to blow a raspberry on his cheek too.

"Ewwwww." Blaine whined. "Cooties!"

"What's a cootie?" Melody asked, looking confused.

"You'll understand when you're a little older." Blaine responded before wiping his cheek with his jacket sleeve.

"You did _not_ just do that." Kurt gasped, eyes wide in horror. "That jacket is more expensive than _mine_."

Blaine held his sleeve out, putting it right by Kurt's face. "Want some cooties?"

"I do!" Melody chirped.

"If you insist!" Blaine exclaimed before blowing another loud raspberry on her cheek and prompting even more loud giggles.

"At least it's more interesting than listening to that little brat up there talk about Tonka trucks." Burt chuckled as he watched them. "Aren't you glad you came to the mall now, Kurt?"

"Ha."

* * *

 _Didn't I tell myself I wouldn't study when we were in New York?_ Blaine had asked himself this question at least once every five minutes over the last two hours. However, he couldn't seem to put his book down even though he was in a comfortable hotel room bed with his boyfriend five feet away. What had happened to his priorities? This time last year, Kurt would have been half naked before Blaine had properly locked the door.

" _Blaaaaine."_

Blaine looked up from his book, right into Kurt's eyes.

 _If he asks for sex… you're going to close the damn book and say yes. Right, Anderson?_ _**Right?** _

"I don't think I can hold it in any longer." Kurt said simply, throwing himself dramatically onto their hotel room bed.

"Your lust for me?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but _no_." Kurt rolled his eyes.

"What then?" Blaine laughed, closing his textbook. While it wasn't a sex offer, he was getting a little tired of schoolwork.

"I can't believe we're in New York!" Kurt exclaimed for the hundredth time since they made it into their hotel room. "And this view and New York and this _view_ and this hotel and this is the most perfect place on Earth. I can't even _think_ straight. There is so much that I want to do. I want to see everything and go everywhere and—."

Blaine laughed again and opened his arms. "C'mere, my love."

Kurt practically bounced over, leaning down and kissing the top of Blaine's head repeatedly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"You know that you don't have to thank me." Blaine tugged Kurt into his arms and nuzzled his shoulder. "I wanted to bring you."

"You don't really like big cities, though."

"It's not _that_ bad." Blaine shrugged. "I don't know if I could _live_ here but I like the city. It's pretty amazing."

"Like you." Kurt snuggled up to Blaine's side.

"And like you." Blaine leaned closer to him. "You're going to do amazing things here at Parsons, Kurt. This is going to be a life changing experience for you."

"I hope I do amazing things. It's a lot of pressure." Kurt admitted.

"You're stuff is amazing and you're perfect. I know you'll do everything you want to do. You deserve everything."

"So do you." Kurt said, tilting his head away from Blaine and looking into his bright hazel eyes. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can."

"The only reason I'm bringing this up is because we agreed to have open communication and something has been bothering me…" Kurt sighed a bit and turned so they were sitting across from each other. "You didn't even tell me that you botched those assignments. Why?"

"It's not something I wanted to boast about." Blaine kind of shrugged.

"But there were times that you were really withdrawn and that's probably why. But we didn't _talk_ about what was wrong, so I… I didn't say anything, but it worried me and then it kind of pissed me off because you're the one who was so adamant about open communication being so important. If we can't have open communication, then what do we have? What will we have two and a half years from now? Will we even make it that long?"

"Wait, wait, wait. What?" Blaine asked, completely thrown off. _This_ wasn't what he'd expected to hear. Especially not the first night of their stay in _New York_. That meant it must have been something that was really bothering Kurt.

"Do you want complete honesty?" Kurt asked, looking directly into Blaine's eyes.

"Of course I do." Blaine nodded, sitting up straight and not breaking eye contact.

"I feel like we're trying to go in two separate directions. We've known our dreams don't line up for ages but the plan was that with opening up to each other about things, that we'd be fine. But there were times we wouldn't talk for five whole days or times that you would be very… short. I never knew if it was something that I'd said or done, if you were just sad about being apart, if your roommate had said something, if you and Wes were arguing. There were times that I had _no idea_ what was going on with you. I didn't like that." Kurt said, very slowly and thinking things through carefully as he said them. He had been holding this in for so long and he was afraid to say something the wrong way and offend his boyfriend.

"I'm sorry, but this is giving me a bad vibe. First you hold all this stuff in and then you throw it at me all at once. How is that fair? Especially when we're supposed to be having a stress free and fun vacation." Blaine looked down, feeling guilty and kind of annoyed. Sometimes he felt like a really crappy boyfriend, and now was one of those times. Despite that, though, he didn't feel as though he deserved this… intervention, or whatever it was. "I'm not used to _not_ doing things perfect. I always had to get straight A's in school or I would get into a lot of trouble. UK was so easy for me because I was used to that kind of work. Harvard is… a lot harder."

"Of course it is." Kurt said gently. "It's law school."

"You don't understand. B's are unacceptable at Harvard. If you get a B, you may as well… have not made it in." Blaine looked down. "I expected it to be hard, but school usually comes so easily for me and something I struggle to get stuff done the right way."

"Did you get any B's?"

"No. I got A minuses on three things." Blaine took a deep breath. "Every time that happened I felt like I should just withdraw."

"If it had such a serious effect on you and you were thinking about things like that, then why didn't you just talk to me about it?" Kurt asked, feeling his stomach knot up. He should have talked about this at the beginning of the break instead of waiting a week.

"I want to make you proud. I want to make everyone proud and to prove to people that I—that I can do it. I guess. I don't know." Blaine shrugged, trying to come up with something that sounded a little more… intelligent. He couldn't find any more words, though, so he just clamped his mouth shut and stared down at his knees.

"Everyone is already _so_ proud of you, Blaine." Kurt said gently, putting his hand under Blaine's chin and making him look up. "People know you can do it. People would have still been proud if you'd gone to any other law school too. And you're allowed to make mistakes. You don't have to be perfect."

"That's not how I was raised. I was taught to be and act perfect."

"Yeah well you weren't raised by good people." Kurt said, eyes darkening. "I don't care how you were raised. I would still be proud of you if you got an F on an assignment at Harvard. I would still be proud if you decided to drop out tomorrow and get a job at a gas station."

Blaine looked back down and sighed. "I didn't mean to make you worried or frustrated…I wish that you'd told me it was bothering you. That's not what I wanted to happen."

"That's why I'm talking to you now. I don't want it to get any worse." Kurt put his hand on Blaine's back and rubbed it up and down slowly. "Look, we have _got_ to talk about this stuff. We have _got_ to. We can say we'll talk about it all we want but _that_ doesn't do anything if we don't actually sit and talk things through. I'm afraid that if we don't start talking about _all_ of this stuff—when we're stressed or scared or sad or whatever— I'm afraid we'll not make it as a couple. A-And I don't know where I would be without you."

Blaine raised his head up, staring out the window and not saying anything.

"I don't want to worry about u-us. We're supposed to be the one thing that we can both count on. And it's—it's really hard sometimes." Kurt took a deep breath, feeling his eyes tear up. "I try to not talk about it or think about it because I want us to both be able to do these things. But it's so hard to not be with you… and on top of that to sometimes have no idea what you're even doing or going through…"

Blaine refused to look up because he didn't want to see tears in Kurt's eyes. He really was the worst boyfriend ever. How had he not known Kurt had been so bothered by this? "I'm sorry. I'm _sorry_."

"And when I can't get in touch with you," Kurt continued, wiping his eyes. "It's like… Why don't you even want to know how _I_ am? Because I'm terrified right now of everything that's happening and about to happen… but I can't talk to the one person who would m-make me feel better."

"Kurt…"

"You're sorry. I know." Kurt took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I brought it up."

Blaine buried his face in his hands and let out a frustrated groan. "I'm under a lot of pressure and I just… thought you were fine because you're still at home and nothing's changed that much for you. I'm an asshole for not asking."

"You're not an asshole." Kurt reached over and grabbed Blaine's hand, lacing their fingers together. "We're both under a lot of pressure right now. We just both handle pressure in different ways."

"Sorry." Blaine leaned his head on Kurt's shoulder.

"It's alright. We just need to work on us a little more. We can start now."

Blaine's lips tugged upward in a small smile and he sat up. "You've got yourself a deal, Mr. Hummel."

Kurt smiled as well. "Good, Mr. Anderson."

Blaine leaned against him again.

"You don't have to be perfect. You're perfect to me." Kurt nuzzled him. "Don't put pressure on yourself because you're going to be just fine."

"You're going to be fine too." Blaine whispered, pressing a kiss to Kurt's cheek after rising up.

"It's a big change. I've never lived on my own before." Kurt bit his lip. "The only time I lived away from my dad was when I lived with you."

"Why don't you live with Rachel?" Blaine asked.

"Mercedes is living with her next year." Kurt answered, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them.

"I thought Mercedes lived with Quinn. You liked her, right? Why don't you try to move in with her?" Blaine asked, nudging him. "She was really nice."

"She is really nice." Kurt nodded. "I don't know, though. We're _friends_ but we don't talk very much anymore. Sometimes we text each other, but I don't know if we're close enough to live together."

"I don't even _like_ one of my roommates. You're already better off than me." Blaine laughed a bit.

"How is that going?"

"Ugh." Blaine frowned.

"Are you still going to room with him next year?"

"If he stays in the apartment, Wes and I are leaving." Blaine answered, holding his thumb and index finger apart. "I am this far from _killing_ that guy."

"Is it worse?" Kurt asked.

"Not worse. It's just getting to me more. And these new guys moved in across the hall and one of them keeps smirking at me." Blaine shuddered a bit.

"Someone's got a crush?" Kurt giggled a bit. "It's not surprising. You're very attractive. _And_ you're a Harvard boy. You're quite the catch, Blaine."

"Meh." Blaine shrugged and then looked at Kurt. "Are we okay, Kurt?"

"Of course we're okay." Kurt gave him a small smile.

"You were really upset. You almost cried… I almost made you cry."

"It's not that hard to achieve really." Kurt joked. "I think it's just a combination of a lot of stressful things happening at once. Sometimes it's just hard to grow up."

"We'll get through it. I promise." Blaine kissed his cheek again.

"Pinky promise?" Kurt said, smile growing as he held out his pinky.

"Pinky promise." Blaine laughed, linking their pinkies together.

* * *

Winter break had gone by way too fast, Kurt decided as he finally finished getting ready to go out on their double date with Alec and Eric. It was his and Blaine's last full day alone because Blaine would be leaving the next afternoon for Boston with Wes. Kurt wasn't even sure when he would physically see Blaine again past tomorrow, but he was trying to not think too hard on that fact. Instead, the tried to focus on making their last full day together fun. After all, their new start with open communication and working harder at their relationship began the next day. A smoother and happier transition would probably make this easy on everybody involved.

Now if only he could pull Blaine away from Wes and David who were visiting.

Kurt hurried into the living room where Blaine was sitting and chatting with Wes and David. "Hey, Blaine, we have to leave to meet Alec and Eric soon or we'll be late."

"Yes, dear." Blaine rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance.

"Are you wearing that?" Kurt asked, looking exasperated. His exasperation was real, though. Honestly, sometimes Kurt nearly cringed when he saw some of Blaine's clothes. Not as often as he used to, but _still_.

"What?" Blaine asked, looking down at his cardigan. "I thought you liked this one."

"With those pants?"

Blaine sighed and pushed himself into a standing position. "This is what I live with, guys."

Kurt rolled his eyes this time. "The wash of those pants clashes with that color. You need to wear a lighter shade."

"Yeah, Blaine." Wes scoffed. "How could you ever not know that?"

"Don't even get me started on you. I'm willing to bet you've been in the same sweatpants since Blaine and I got back from New York." Kurt pointed at Wes.

"Is it always like this?" David asked Blaine, clearly amused.

Blaine nodded his head and headed off towards his bedroom.

"You better keep him in check, Kurt." David said, expression serious.

"I feel sorry for your kids." Wes laughed. "If you would actually hang out with the three of us, Kurt, you would probably steal David's role as mother hen."

"I couldn't handle the three of you." Kurt responded quite honestly.

"There's a reason it's a trio and not a…. more-o." Wes grinned, wiggling his fingers as Blaine came back in wearing new jeans. "You are _whipped_."

"I've never denied it, have I?" Blaine questioned, pulling his jacket out of their closet.

"You two do know you can come, right?" Kurt asked, looking at Wes and David.

"I don't think we'd fit in too well." David said. "Besides, Wes would keep asking everyone about their favorite sex positions."

"Let's go!" Wes cheered, standing. "I already know Blaine's!"

"You think you know Blaine's." Blaine muttered under his breath, nudging Kurt and winking.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "If you go, you cannot bring up sex."

Wes sank back onto the couch. "Well never mind then."

"Why are you sitting down? If Blaine's here, we've got to go home." David remarked, standing.

"I volunteered us to stay with Carole. We're making cookies and gossiping about Kurt and Blaine." Wes pulled David back into a sitting position.

"Bye, guys." Blaine said, dragging Kurt out. He locked the door behind them and whispered, "I am _so_ sorry."

"It's _fine_." Kurt reassured him for the millionth time since Wes and David had shown up the night before.

"I thought they were staying in Westerville. They were _supposed_ to." Blaine opened the passenger door of his car for Kurt, waiting for him to be completely inside before closing the door and moving to get in the driver side door.

"Blaine, I like them." Kurt smiled at Blaine as he started the car.

"You don't think Carole would give them stuff on us, do you?" Blaine asked warily.

"She'd probably do anything to hear funny or cute stories about you. She may very well do just that, Blaine." Kurt responded. "We may be screwed."

…

"I wonder if they forgot we were all meeting." Blaine said nearly twenty minutes after Alec and Eric were supposed to have made it to the Olive Garden nearest to CCAD. He glanced out the window, shrugging when he didn't see any new cars in the parking lot.

"I doubt it. Alec always runs late when we meet for stuff after classes. I don't think he knows how to be on time." Kurt answered, glancing down at his phone. "I bet that car pulling in now is them. I'm pretty sure Eric has a red one. I've seen it outside of Alec's apartment complex a few times."

"I think you're right." Blaine said, watching two guys get out of the car. "Good, 'cause I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry, Blaine." Kurt laughed as Alec and Eric walked in.

" _I have a ring_!" Alec exclaimed dramatically when they were halfway to the table.

" _You got engaged?"_ Kurt asked, blue eyes widening. "That's what you were hiding at the mall! When did you do it? You didn't do it before you had dinner with us!"

"Well I-."

"He did it late that night! When we got home we did some x-rated things—."

"Oh my God." Eric's eyes widened in horror. "PG version, Alec!"

"And after we were having this sweet moment and drinking hot chocolate—."

Kurt watched Alec with big eyes, looking excited.

"And then he proposed. He's been going on about how he doesn't want to get married for ages, but he proposed to me. It was _so_ sweet. It was everything I've ever imagined. No. I'm lying. I never could have imagined it as good as it was."

Kurt , who now had his chin rested in the palm of his hand, let out a dreamy sort of sigh.

"But he'd been driving me crazy before that." Alec continued. "So crazy that I momentarily considered saying no."

"Oh, shut up." Eric rolled his eyes.

"I really didn't." Alec laughed. "But he had hid the ring in the bathroom. He legitimately would not leave me alone because he wanted to make sure I didn't stumble upon it and ruin the surprise." Alec explained. "The whole time I would use the bathroom, he would talk to me through the door. Let's not even discuss how awkward and distracting that is, by the way."

"Why the bathroom?" Blaine tilted his head, looking confused. He tried to not consider how Kurt always got moody and jealous when friends got engaged. He really didn't need to deal with all of that on top of everything else going on.

"I don't know. He hates cleaning them. It felt like the best option… until I realized it was the one room I couldn't follow him into all of the time." Eric shrugged.

"Oh my God. You two are _engaged_ though." Kurt said, pouting a bit. "What's going to happen next year?"

"Just… Just listen to this." Alec said, gesturing for Eric to speak.

"I'm following him to New York. I'm going to find a job in New York when he goes to Parsons." Eric laughed.

"Correction. He's a sneaky little _brat_ and already has a job." Alec cut in. "I'm pretty sure he's had this whole thing planned for months."

"The hardest part was the ring. Good luck with that for Kurt, Blaine. I was afraid he'd take one look at it and turn me down. Once or twice I almost broke down and asked him to come with me to pick it out."

"And you better be glad that you didn't." Alec said, very seriously. "I would have _killed_ you. Well, conflicted injury. If I murdered you, I wouldn't have gotten a ring out of this."

Kurt glanced at Blaine and smiled. Maybe Kurt wasn't jealous. Good.

"How's Harvard going?" Eric asked Blaine after rolling his eyes at Alec.

"It's going well. I like it a lot." Blaine answered.

"You're done with medical school now, aren't you?"

"Almost. I'll be done in May." Eric said. "I'm very, very close to done."

"Just in time for us to go to New York together." Alec cheered, looking positively giddy. "Eight years part is so much better than the twelve years we thought we'd have to have apart."

Eric looked at Blaine, miming a talking mouth with his hand when Alec wasn't looking. Blaine snorted before quickly taking a drink.

"It's not stopped." Eric laughed. "Not. Stopped."

"That's such a nice ring." Kurt was saying, looking at Alec's hand.

"That hasn't stopped either. Ow, Alec. Don't kick me."

"The whole point of an engagement is to show off the ring." Alec said, rolling his eyes.

"And not to get married?"

"Well that too." Alec waved his hand. He then suddenly exclaimed, "Derek!"

Eric raised his hand, nearly covering Alec's mouth, but he was too late.

Blaine tensed up, resisting the urge to look behind him.

"Hey, guys."

If there was ever a voice that made Blaine want to punch someone that was it.

"Hey." Alec said cheerfully, waving.

"Hey, Kurt. Hi, Alec… Eric."

Blaine turned to see the person, feeling Kurt's hand on his leg.

Eric looked at Derek and then looked down at his phone.

"You must be Blaine. Derek." The guy, Derek, said as he thrust his hand forward. _Too_ forward.

"Hi." Blaine said, taking a drink from his soda. If that guy thought Blaine was shaking his hand, he was sorely mistaken.

"Blaine." Kurt hissed, elbowing him.

"Sorry. I've been kind of sick to my stomach." Blaine said, forcing a smile. "Wouldn't want to get any more germs."

Eric let out a laugh which he quickly turned into a cough. "Sorry. Youtube videos. The one with the bird."

"How was your Christmas, Derek?" Kurt asked after sending Blaine a pointed look.

"It was great." Derek took a seat. "How was everyone else's?"

"It was great." Eric chirped, smiling too brightly. "I proposed to Alec on Christmas morning."

"…Congratulations." Derek said slowly.

"Thanks." Eric chirped. "That's _very_ appreciated."

"Cool it." Alec muttered.

Blaine watched them curiously. At least he wasn't the only one that thought Derek sucked. He had been wrong about Alec and he was glad for that. However, he was pretty sure he _wasn't_ wrong about Derek.

"Right. I'm going to go and get a refill." Eric stood.

"You don't even have a cup." Derek stated.

"Then I'll get one." Eric made his way up to the counter of the restaurant.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Derek said, laughing in a way that made Blaine want to kick his face in.

Kurt met Blaine's eyes and squeezed his leg, silently pleading for Blaine to be nice. Blaine just took another drink of his soda and pulled out his phone. He hadn't signed up for _this_ being his last full night with Kurt. He had wanted to see Alec and Eric, to have a fun night before heading to the airport tomorrow afternoon.

 _I want to go,_ Blaine texted Kurt before going onto his Facebook.

 **I don't want to be rude. We'll leave soon,** Kurt texted back.

He then sent another one three seconds later that said, **I promise.**

Eric came back over a few minutes later, sitting next to Blaine instead of by Alec and Derek. "So, Blaine, are you excited to go back to Boston?"

"I'm definitely ready to leave." Blaine said pointedly, not even reacting when Kurt punched his leg under the table.

"Am I intruding or something?" Derek asked. "Because I can leave."

"No." Kurt and Alec said together.

"Let me up, Blaine. I need to use the bathroom." Kurt said, standing.

"Yeah. Me too." Blaine stood also and followed Kurt to the empty bathroom.

"Stop it." Kurt snapped before the door was even shut.

"I want to go home."

"He's not said one mean thing to you." Kurt snapped. "You're acting like an asshole."

"Clearly Eric doesn't want him here either." Blaine argued. " _He_ is the asshole. If he thinks I'm going to make friendly with him after what he did to you, then he's got another think coming. I am _not_ going to sit and be nice to him. I have nothing to say to him."

"Well maybe you could just be nice for _me_."

"Don't even turn this into something like that." Blaine said, frowning. "You can't expect me to be nice to him after what he said to you about me and especially after what he _did_ to you. You're way too forgiving."

"I _work_ with him. I don't want to make trouble for myself. This internship will set me up with the right people." Kurt argued right back. "I can't go having negative things paired with my name."

"There is a difference in being cordial and being friends, Kurt. You're acting like his friend."

The bathroom door opened and Alec stepped in, looking almost as annoyed as Kurt did. "Do you all want to just go? We can say we have tickets to something."

"Whatever, Kurt. This is going to come back and bite you in the ass and I don't want to hear it when it does." Was all that Blaine said before leaving the bathroom.

"What in the _hell_?" Kurt fumed when the door shut.

"Eric's acting worse than him." Alec sighed. "I don't know why Eric hates him so much. At least Blaine has half a reason."

"No. Blaine just gets jealous and turns into an asshole. It's getting really old." Kurt glared at the wall. "I guess we should go before someone ends up killing each other. Although I haven't ruled out killing Blaine quite yet."

Alec rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't kill him."

"You're right. That'd be too messy." Kurt joked and opened the door. They made their way back to the table, but only Derek was there.

"Where'd they go?" Alec asked impatiently.

"Outside. I think something's wrong with Blaine. He seemed very upset." Derek said, biting his lip. "I'm going to go, guys. Sorry if I caused any tension."

"See you later." Kurt said before heading out of the restaurant.

"Just calm down. He's an _asshole_ , okay?" he heard Eric's voice say. "It's not worth it to get this worked up over someone like him. It's exactly what he wanted."

"It's bullshit. It's complete _bullshit_!" Blaine exclaimed, kicking the tire of Kurt's Navigator.

"What are you _doing_?" Kurt asked, rushing over.

"You may want to give him a few minutes." Eric said quietly, eyes on Blaine who looked so angry that he was about to cry.

"What happened, Blaine?" Kurt asked, moving closer to him.

"I want to go home, Kurt!"

"He left. You can quit acting like this."

"Right." Blaine sneered. "I'll quit acting like this."

Kurt sighed and turned to Eric. "What happened when I was in the bathroom?"

"Give me the car keys, Kurt." Blaine, who had been leaning against the car, stood up straight and held out his hand.

"No. Not until someone tells me what's going on." Kurt protested.

"I'm fucking _pissed off_ and I _want to go home_. If you won't let me in the car, then I'll just call David to pick me up!" Blaine's voice grew louder.

"Don't talk to me like that! What is your _problem_?" Kurt's eyes narrowed as he stood his ground. "Blaine, this has got to stop."

"SEE? See! It's always _me_!" Blaine shouted to Eric as Alec stepped out, looking extremely confused. "I didn't say _anything_ to him to deserve—."

"Is he okay?" Alec whispered to Eric.

"Derek… Derek basically just verbally attacked Blaine." Eric said calmly, moving to Blaine.

Kurt eyed Blaine, not saying anything. Blaine stared right back, not even blinking.

"As soon as Alec left, he started in on Blaine. He started saying that…" Eric glanced at Blaine and then trailed off. "Stuff. He started saying stuff."

"Are we going or not?" Blaine snapped. When he didn't get an answer soon enough for his liking, he turned and walked off.

"Blaine! Where are you going?" Kurt exclaimed.

"Don't worry about it!" Blaine called back, fiddling with his phone.

"What happened?" Kurt asked Eric, looking pissed.

"Derek started saying that it must have been horrible to have to be taken in by your parents and that you… must have only felt bad for him, so that's why you two are still together… and then he said…" Eric glanced at Blaine and then lowered his voice to where Blaine couldn't hear. "Something about how it was pitiful that he stayed with you all and that he should just go home to his rich parents… but 'I sense daddy issues.' Blaine kind of lost it there. He stood, almost knocked the chair over, and came outside. I was worried, so I followed him out here."

Kurt stared at him, trying to decide how much of it was an exaggeration.

"Look. That guy is an asshole. When he first met Alec he would try to pull the same stuff with me but he never took it that far."

"No. You just blew things he said out of proportion." Alec cut in.

"Exactly." Eric scoffed. "Blaine is that upset because of something else that happened."

"Blaine gets angry very quickly and sometimes he builds stuff up in his head." Kurt looked at Eric. "Are you _sure_ that's what happened?"

"I was right there. That's what happened." Eric nodded.

Blaine walked back up, taking a deep breath. He then spoke slowly and in a calm voice. "I would like to go home."

"Just calm down. You're not thinking straight. You're ruining our last night together." Kurt pleaded. "Just calm down."

"Kurt, I want to go home." Blaine repeated.

"Well I don't. We were supposed to all four have dinner and see a movie. We were supposed to have _fun_." Kurt stepped closer to him. "Blaine…"

"If you don't leave with me, David is going to pick me up."

"But you leave tomorrow!" Kurt said, feeling tears fill his eyes. "Blaine, come on!"

"I am really upset right now and you are so convinced it's my fault or that it's in my head!" Blaine exclaimed. "I don't want to be out right now!" He then turned to Alec and Eric. "No offense."

"Why won't you just calm down and talk to me about this? It doesn't have to turn into a big thing." Kurt kept his voice low and gentle.

"Why won't you just accept that that creep is a douchefuck?" Blaine asked.

"Blaine, I'm sorry if he said anything to you…"

" _Why did you tell him that I had to move in with you?"_

Kurt looked at him, completely taken back. "What?"

"As if it isn't hard enough for me to deal with the fact that the closest people to me aren't even my family, you have to go and tell people I don't even know? That's my personal life!"

"Blaine, I never said anything about your parents to him." Kurt said quickly, trying to step up as Blaine backed away.

"Well he knew I lived with you."

"I told him that you took c-care of me after the… after the attack. I never—I never said—." Kurt swallowed hard, trying to stop himself from starting to cry. What in the world was even going on? How was this escalating so damn fast? And how did Blaine think he would really tell people about Blaine's family issues? Kurt would _never_ do that. "Anything about t-that. T-To anyone."

"I'm sorry. I can't be around you right now. I'll stop by tomorrow before I leave." Blaine said.

"Blaine, I didn't say anything." Kurt grabbed his hand. "I promise you. I didn't say _anything_."

"Okay." Blaine looked in his eyes. "But I still want to stay somewhere else."

"We can't do this every time we fight. We can't just run away all the time!" Tears spilled over. "Don't leave. We'll go home, okay? We'll go home and we'll talk about it. Or we won't. But don't leave."

"I need to be alone."

"No. With David. You always have to go off to David or Wes when something happens! Why can't you talk to _me_?" Kurt was now close to full on crying. He couldn't _help_ it. This was their last night together. It was supposed to be nice… not… _this._

"Just give me a few hours." Blaine said. "And I'll come home."

" _Fine_. Fine! Go and tell them everything! God, maybe you should just date them!" Kurt burst into tears as Blaine walked off.

Alec and Eric were standing farther off now, looking down and trying not to hear as much as possible.

"T-This is w-why I was worried. Nobody ever sta-stays and works stuff out." Kurt cried, coming up. "One of us always runs o-off. L-Last t-time it was m-me. Th-The time before th-that, it was h-him."

Alec put a hand on Kurt's back and rubbed it up and down once, frowning.

"Who k-knows if w-we'll even be on good terms w-when he goes back t-tomorrow." Kurt continued, wiping his eyes. "S-Sometimes when w-we fight, i-it lasts w-weeks."

"Just try to talk to him when he comes home in a few hours?" Alec asked, looking anxious.

"I-If he does. The last time he left, I didn't see him for three weeks." Kurt let out a harsh laugh and wiped his eyes again. "G-Guys, I'm sorry but I j-just want to go h-home."

"No. Let's go see the movie." Alec said, putting his hand on Kurt's back again and rubbing up and down once more. "You'll feel better. Just take your mind off of it. It'll blow over. He's just upset. If… If Derek really said those things, he's got a reason to be if there really are… family issues. It's understandable."

"H-He never comes to m-me. It's a-always h-his friends. I c-can't compete w-with the-them and e-everything they did for him." Kurt watery hiccoughed, wiping his eyes.

"You're really upset." Eric said gently, meeting Kurt's eyes. "You shouldn't be driving this upset. We'll go see the movie or do something else. You'll feel better."

"Fine." Kurt sniffed loudly and wiped his eyes once again. "O-Okay."

Alec dropped his hand from Kurt's back and led both Kurt and Eric back to their car, opening the back door for Kurt. "It'll be okay. I promise."

"We made each other cry so many times." Eric said as he hopped into the front seat. "I could have killed Alec a few times. It's all a part of being in a long distance relationship."

"Well being in a long distance relationship _sucks_." Kurt said, closing the back door as Alec got in the backseat on the other side. "I'm ready for this to be o-over."

Alec met Eric's eyes through the rear view mirror and frowned. Kurt looked down, pretending he hadn't noticed. Maybe he was getting a little too upset, maybe he was overreacting, but how much was he supposed to take before cracking?


	8. Chapter 8

From: KurtHummel

To: AndeBl4

Time: 10:46 pm EST

Date: 04 Feb 2015

_Blaine,_

_Why won't you just talk to me on the phone? We don't have to argue. I miss you._

_Kurt_

From: AndeBl4

To: KurtHummel

Time: 11:27 pm EST

Date: 04 Feb 2015

**I'm sorry. Every time we talk on the phone it turns into an argument. I have so many presentations to work on. I can't keep getting upset like this every single time we talk. I can't.**

From: KurtHummel

To: AndeBl4

Time: 11:35 pm EST

Date: 04 Feb 2015

 _I don't know how much longer I can take this, Blaine. I don't know what hurts more—the fact that we still haven't fixed it or the fact that now you don't seem to even want to try to fix it. I didn't ask for this. I know I hurt your feelings. I should have just taken you home the first time you asked. I should have believed what you said. I should have done a lot of things differently but I didn't. I didn't and I'm sorry. I'm really, really, really sorry. But if we keep running away from problems, then we can't_ fix _them. I want to fix this. I want to fix us._

_I love you so much. I'm sorry you feel like I was being selfish. I didn't mean to be. I didn't want to place you into an uncomfortable situation. I just wanted our last night together to be good. I wasn't meaning to write off your feelings. It escalated really fast and I reacted poorly._

_I don't know what else to say besides I'm sorry._

_But I really am._

_I am sorry._

From: AndeBl4

To: KurtHummel

Time: 12:07 am EST

Date: 05 Feb 2015

**Then I guess there isn't anything else to say.**

* * *

From: AndeBl4

To: KurtHummel

Time: 4:08 pm EST

Date: 10 Feb 2015

**I'm having a bad day. I want to call you or text you and I start to but then I put down my phone because we're in this stupid mess. And it really pisses me off, Kurt. I am really pissed off and I don't feel any better about it than I did yesterday or the day before or the day before that.**

**I just don't get it.**

**I feel like I put you first all of the time, but you completely disregarded me in almost everything that happened that night.**

**You didn't "mean to." Okay. But you still did and that hurts.**

**It hurts that I feel like this right now.**

**And why would you tell him about my family? That's what gets me the most, Kurt. Do you think that I enjoy the fact that I had to live with your family because of my—what did Derek call them? Oh, right.— Daddy Issues? No. No, Kurt. I didn't. I don't like having to rely on people. And the attack? Okay, why would you ever even bring that up anyway? None of this makes any sense. I don't think you're cheating on me with him. He's probably too dumb to even know where to stick it with all the hair dye he uses. But it doesn't make sense that you would be his friend after what he did to you. After what he did to you and the thing he said to me and about me. Apparently I'm not an idiot. I know you're still making friendly with him at the internship.**

**I also know that you, he, and Alec went out for drinks.**

**Hope that went really well for you.**

From: AndeBl4

To: KurtHummel

Time: 7:36 pm EST

Date: 10 Feb 2015

**Please ignore that first email.**

**I had a drink or two.**

**Hope your day went well.**

From: KurtHummel

To: AndeBl4

Time: 9:13 pm EST

Date: 10 Feb 2015

_Blaine,_

_I would have answered sooner but I had my night class. I just saw them._

_Please call me._

_We don't have to talk about the other things. We'll just talk about your day._

_Please call me, Blaine. I'm worried. You don't usually drink during the week._

_I love you._

_Kurt._

From: AndeBl4

To: KurtHummel

Time: 9:36 pm EST

Date: 10 Feb 2015

**I don't even know where my phone is right now and I don't feel like moving to find it.**

**Things just suck.**

**I'm not good enough for this.**

**I don't know who I thought I was kidding when I came here.**

From: KurtHummel

To: AndeBl4

Time: 9:38 pm EST

Date: 10 Feb 2015

_Will you get on Skype?_

_I'm really worried._

_I love you._

From: AndeBl4

To: KurtHummel

Time: 9:39 pm EST

Date: 10 Feb 2015

**I think I'm just going to go to bed.**

**I love you too, Kurt.**

From: KurtHummel

To: AndeBl4

Time: 9:59 pm EST

Date: 10 Feb 2015

_Blaine,_

_You are beautiful, okay? You are beautiful and you are special and you matter so much to me and so many other people. When you say stuff like "I don't know who I thought I was kidding when I came here." It breaks my heart because that means you don't believe you can do it. I_ know _you can do it. I don't know if it's directly school related. If you did badly on an assignment or presentation, it's okay. There will be a lot more. You're top in your class. Your professors know what kind of work you're capable of. People make mistakes. Even people like you. Don't dwell on it, okay? You'll do so much better next time. Do you know how I know that? Because I know_ you _. You were born to go to Harvard. I can feel it. You are where you need to be. You're going to graduate, become a lawyer, achieve your dream, and help so many people. Because to you it's more about helping people than it is about meeting a goal. Because you are that kind of person._

 _If it's about what is going on with us, we'll be okay. It's really hard right now. We miss each other like crazy. It's harder to sleep because for four years we slept curled together and now it's like part of us is missing. We're frustrated in more ways than one._ _(Yes, Blaine. I meant sexually. I know. I took it there.) School is getting harder so that's an outside stress that is affecting us too. We're fighting right now and we live so far away. It makes it harder to make up and get over these things. Not that I'm saying you need to get over it. I'm just saying that if we were closer it would be easier, but this is where we're at. We're far apart and in a serious committed relationship. We committed ourselves really young and we're still growing. We're still trying to figure stuff out. And if you aren't, then I still am at least. Sometimes I have no idea which way is left and which way is right when it comes to us. But I know that in the end, we'll always be okay. Because we're KurtandBlaine not Kurt and Blaine. We've always been there for each other and we will always be there for each other. If there is one thing that makes me feel better, it's the fact that I know soon this will all be behind us and we'll find something else to fight about. And then we'll repeat the process all over again. We're going to have fights until we're too old to make out each other's witty comebacks. Actually, we'll probably still fight then too. We just won't know what we're arguing about. No matter how much we fight, though, I'm always going to be yours. You do know that, right? Unless you want out, then I will always be yours and I will always be there for you. I love you so much, Blaine._

 _I'm so sorry you had a bad day, babe. I'm even sorrier that I can't be there to lay with you and cuddle you until you feel better or fall asleep. Fighting or not, you can always call me. I hope you know that. I am always going to be here for you to talk to or to cry to or vent to. If you haven't fallen asleep yet,_ call me _. We'll talk about whatever has you upset. We won't bring up what happened here in Ohio. We won't even mention it. I want to be there for you. I want to make you feel better, Blaine._

_If you're awake, please call me._

_And if you're already asleep, I hope you wake up and whatever is bothering you now doesn't feel so bad in the morning. You can still call me when you get this. I miss your voice._

_It's going to be okay, Blaine._

_I promise._

_I love you,_

_Kurt_

From: AndeBl4

To: KurtHummel

Time: 3:47 am EST

Date: 11 Feb 2015

**I miss you a lot.**

* * *

From: AndeBl4

To: KurtHummel

Time: 11:29 am EST

Date: 16 Feb 2015

 **Another argument!** _**Big** _ **shocker, right? It only happens every** _**single time** _ **we physically talk to each other, so I don't know why I thought this time would be different.**

**I find it really hilarious that you want to fix "this" so we can fix "us" but there seems to be a whole lot of pointing the blame at me when quite frankly, I don't think I'm the one that did anything wrong.**

**I cannot** _**believe** _ **you think I have an anger problem. I have an anger problem?** _**Really?** _

**Okay then.**

**It really upsets me when you say I have an anger problem. Do you want to know** _**why** _ **, Kurt? My father had an anger problem. He would get pissed off, knock me around, scream in my face, grab my arm, push me against walls or down in chairs. He would do it to Alex too when I was younger. I can't remember much, but I remember them getting into arguments when I was little. When he would argue with my mom he would never get physical, but he would always scream at her too.**

**That is an anger problem.**

**I'm not saying that it should excuse the fact that I hold anger in and then just get** _**mad** _ **.**

**But you should try to understand what I went through.**

**What I'm doing is a hell of a lot better than what I was raised in.**

**I would never push you against a wall like he did to me.**

**Or get in your face and tell you that you're a liar, worthless, useless, that you should have been aborted or drowned.**

**And then to have anger management issues thrown in my face because I hold stuff in?**

**I'm sorry I don't handle my anger the way** _**you** _ **do. By blaming other people to make yourself feel better.**

 **This is why I don't want to talk to you on the phone. Because it always ends just like it did thirty minutes ago. With me in my room upset, wanting to cry or crying, and wondering how long it's going to be before I snap and make a rash decision that hurts both of us.** _**I don't want to do that.** _

**What do you want? For me to sign up for anger management classes? Would that make you happier?**

**Maybe I can sign up for therapy for my blatant sex addiction.**

**While I'm at it, I'll go back to a conversion camp. That was a whole lot of fun.**

**Almost as fun as you accusing me of having an anger problem.**

**I hope you have a delightful day, Kurt. Downright splendid freaking day.**

…

"Blaine, why are you trying to suffocate yourself with five pillows?"

"Wskfing?"

"What?" Wes asked, tilting his head.

Blaine raised his head off of his gigantic pillows and repeated rather snappily, "Wes, why isn't it _working_?"

"Kurt?"

Blaine scowled. "Shut up."

"Well that last phone call didn't go well judging by how you raised your voice. And you were typing might furiously."

Blaine gave a sarcastic smile. "Really? Did you pick up on that all on your own?"

"Don't you think you might be giving Kurt a hard time?" Wes leaned in Blaine's doorway and watched him.

"No, no, no, no, _no_." Blaine scoffed, standing up. "Don't you even start."

"It's been a really long time."

"He _badgers_ me!" Blaine exclaimed. "I don't want to talk about it but he _nags and nags_. I just want to be left alone but he's constantly texting or calling wanting to work it out or talk it through. I am _pissed off_. I'm pissed off and instead of giving me time to… to do whatever… he just keeps annoying me! And I'm the one he acts like is a bratty child? Puh!"

"He wants to work it out." Wes said reasonably.

"I'm well aware he wants to work it out."

"And you don't?"

"It's not like I want to break up or anything. I just want some time to cool off. I just want him to leave me _alone_." Blaine vented. "Is it too much to ask to have some time to myself? I don't think so!"

"Why?" Wes asked.

"Why? What do you mean, _why_?" Blaine stared at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"I want to hear you say exactly why you're upset with him."

"Firstly because he talked to me like I was his _child_ or something. Like I needed to calm my temper because I was _embarrassing him_. You want to talk about embarrassing? Sometimes he snaps his fingers when the freaking cheesecake takes too long! That is embarrassing!" Blaine scoffed. "I am upset, I'm asking to leave, and he just writes off my feelings completely. Like I'm not competent enough to know that I am upset, some asshole has done me wrong, and that I can't _want_ to go home. I'm just making a big scene out of 'nothing.' I'm making it worse than it is. I'm _ruining our night_. Oh my God, Wes, I'm a spoiled little brat!"

Wes bit back the urge to smile or laugh. He knew it wasn't funny, but there was just something amusing about Blaine when he worked himself up like this.

"I asked to go home from the very beginning. Was I nice to this jerk? No, Wes. I wasn't. Sorry that I wasn't going to be nice to someone who talked trash about me to my boyfriend and tried to fondle him—I know what was going through his mind when he put his hand on Kurt's leg. That guy knew he was imposing when he sat down at our table, Wes, and I immediately texted Kurt and told him that I wanted to leave. At least _I_ had the courtesy to not say it out loud because I can promise you that I _really_ wanted to and now I wish I had! Why do I care what the fuck some asshole thinks about me? I don't. Sorry! But Kurt—He's like 'Oh, okay. We'll leave soon.' _Right_. Then I go to the bathroom, he gives me some _bullshit_ about blah blah don't make trouble blah blah my name at my internship blah blah. Then Alec comes in, I go out there, and that guy brings up—brings up you know." Blaine continued, fuming. "So then _I'm_ causing the problem, right? Because Kurt leaves the bathroom and the asshole tells him we went outside because we're the big mean boys who hurt his _feelings_ or something. I don't know what. And Kurt says I'm ruining our last night. _I'm_ ruining our last night? _I_ am? Okay."

Wes made himself comfortable on Blaine's floor, watching him carefully.

"And the fact that Kurt told that guy that I had to move in with them, that I have 'daddy issues'…" Blaine shook his head, no longer looking angry. Now he just looked sad. "I _trusted_ him with that information, okay? I never thought that he would tell other people—people I don't even know—about that kind of stuff. If I knew he would have told, I _never_ would have told him."

"What if he didn't?" Wes asked very calmly.

"Then how would the guy have _known_?"

"I don't think that Kurt would talk about that kind of stuff with people he doesn't know." Wes shrugged. "He knows that David and I know stuff, right? Well he's never once talked to _us_ about it and he knows we know. Why not talk to someone who knows if he wants to talk about it?"

"I have trust issues. I know I do, alright? I am very well aware of the fact that I have trust issues. It's a big thing that isn't going away anytime soon. It set off this whole argument but it just… it runs deeper than that, Wes. It boils down to the fact that Kurt made this asshole priority over _me._ It boils down to the fact that it didn't matter what _I_ wanted that night. Only what _Kurt_ wanted. And Kurt got what he wanted. We didn't leave. And this is where we are."

"He clearly feels horrible or he wouldn't 'badger' you about it every day." Wes sighed, watching him carefully.

"Yeah. Kurt always feels horrible about stuff after the fact. Maybe if he took me into consideration more, this wouldn't be such an issue. I almost always put him first—even over _me_ more times than I'll admit." Blaine looked down. "It kind of hurts that he doesn't do the same for me."

Wes stood and went to sit by Blaine on the bed, draping an arm around him and then ruffling his hair. "Did you tell him all of this?"

"No. He doesn't even care." Blaine closed his eyes.

"If he didn't care, he wouldn't be calling and texting. You two wouldn't be emailing. He's trying to make this better… He's just not going about it the right way." Wes tried to reason with Blaine. In his opinion, at least, Blaine was going off base. There was _no way_ that Kurt didn't care about him.

Blaine took several deep, calming breaths. "Or maybe he just doesn't care for me as much as I care for him."

"That's not true. It can't be."

"David thinks it might be." Blaine opened his eyes.

Wes looked at him, not blinking. Of course David would have gone and made his opinion on the situation known. The only problem there was David tended to not see anything past Blaine and crying because he was still worried that something would happen and Blaine would become depressed again, start acting out. While Wes understood _worrying_ , he didn't think it was very good of him to add to Blaine's fuel.

"What if I've always cared about him more?" Blaine shrugged Wes' arm off of him and stood. "What if he doesn't really love me?"

"Blaine, you're taking it way too far. David is a bad person to talk to Kurt about. He's _pissed_. All he can see is that this is the second time you've showed up at his house in tears because of Kurt. You know how protective he is." Wes stood too. "I mean, I'm protective too. But David… David gets _mad_. Kurt loves you."

"Yeah maybe he _loves_ me but what if he doesn't love me as much as I love him?" Blaine looked up at him.

"I think you're over thinking this." Wes said very calmly. "Kurt loves you. Kurt cares about you a lot."

"Do you think that he loves me and cares for me as much as I care for him?" Blaine stared at him, looking like a lost little kid.

"I'm sure that he does, Blaine." Wes frowned.

"But sometimes it's not like that in relationships. Sometimes one person loves someone more. What if I love him more?" Blaine pushed, becoming increasingly more upset as he talked. Why was he saying this stuff out loud? It made him more of a _real_ possibility than when it was trapped inside. "What if he feels like he has to stay because he doesn't want to hurt my feelings, and he's really unhappy, and he—."

Wes moved forward, putting his hands on Blaine's shoulders and getting on his eye level. "Listen to me."

Blaine nodded, not blinking.

"You're hurt and upset. Kurt cares for you and loves you just as much as you care for and love him." Wes said gently. "Thinking things like that is only going to upset you even more. I'm going to talk to Kurt, okay?"

"No!"

"Yes. I'm going to tell him that you need a few days to yourself. That you need some time to think things through and cool off. That way he'll quit calling and texting. Take those days and try to not think about fights or worrying about silly things like him not loving you… because he does."

"You think I'm being silly? You really think he loves me as much as I love him?" Blaine asked hopefully.

"I really do." Wes nodded, letting go of his shoulders. "I think you just need some time to yourself. It will all work out, but you're just at your wit's end right now. You need a little break from the fight. It's been so long that your mind is starting to play tricks on you."

"Okay." Blaine let out a deep breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Thanks, Wes."

"But when you talk to him… I want you to tell him everything you told me." Wes said. "Alright?"

Blaine nodded, letting his head fall back against the wall he was standing by.

"I'm going to go and call him now." Wes reached forward, squeezed Blaine's shoulder, and then left the room without another word.

Blank sank down the wall, sitting on the floor and burying his face in his hands.

At what point did it become too much to handle?

…

"Is Blaine okay?" Kurt asked without a little while later that same day, answering Wes' phone call on the first ring.

"I'm doing great, Kurtsie. How are you?" Wes chirped.

Kurt let out a relieved sigh, turning his car headlights off. He had made it back to Lima and was in the driveway but had yet to make it out of the car and into the house. Now that he was on the phone with Wes, he _really_ didn't want to go inside and risk his dad asking nonstop questions.

"I've been better." Kurt admitted, turning the heat up a notch and leaning back against his seat. He had a feeling he was going to be here for a while. That tended to be the case when Wes called him. "How are you?"

"I'm alright. Do you have a bit to talk?" Wes asked.

_Well this isn't intimidating at all._

"Yeah. Is it about Blaine?"

"Yes. It is." Wes sighed a bit. "Look, I'm on your side here. Well, I'm on Blaine's too. But I mean to say that I want this fight to go away. I think you two are meant to be. I wouldn't want to see Blaine with anyone else because I think you two are really good for each other."

Kurt swallowed, suddenly resisting the urge to cry. Wes wasn't mad at him, at least. That, to Kurt, was the equivalent of Blaine's family wanting them to be together.

"He's really upset, Kurt. I know you're trying to help resolve the situation but he's just getting more agitated." Wes said, voice much calmer and gentle than Kurt was used to hearing. Kurt imagined this is probably how he talked to Blaine when Blaine was upset. It was completely different that Wes' typical demeanor. It was… weirdly reassuring.

"I don't know what to do apart from apologize."

"You know how Blaine is when he's upset. He needs some time to himself and he'll settle down. But every time that he has a chance to not think about it, there's a call or a text or an email."

Kurt bit his lip hard.

"I think if you give Blaine a few days, he'll be able to calm down and think things through in a more reasonable way. Right now it's like he's hell bent on being difficult and angry. He just needs some time to himself."

Kurt took a deep breath. "Does he hate me?"

"Of course not. He's just… he's really upset. I've seen him angrier, though. It'll pass." Wes reassured him.

"Alright… Thanks, Wes. Can you make sure he's taking care of himself for me? You know how he can be when he's upset."

"Already covered, Kurtsie." Wes laughed a bit. "Take it easy. Let him come to you. He loves you. Once he cools down, it'll be over pretty quickly. Just give him some time to get there."

"Yeah. I better work on homework, but I'll talk to you later."

"See ya, Kurt." Wes said before hanging up. He hadn't been off of the phone for ten minutes before his phone rang, only this time it was David. "'Sup, Daviel?"

"I'm in-between classes and bored. What about you?"

"Just got off of the phone with Blainers' lover boy. For having been with Blaine so long, you think he'd know when to just let Blaine cool off for a few days." Wes responded, laughing a bit. "These two are going to put me into an early deathbed. Don't you agree?"

"I think it will take more than a few days for Blaine to cool off after all of the crap Kurt did." David said, his tone serious.

"Oh, come on. It's been long enough. You know it all comes down to Blaine thinking Kurt told that jerk about his parents. You don't _really_ think Kurt actually did that, do you?"

"I don't know what I think. But what I do know is that this is the second time—."

"Blaine has come to your house crying. I know." Wes interrupted. "But they're _gay_. They both get emotional. It's what gay guys do, right?"

"No." David said. "It's not like at Dalton. Blaine doesn't cry all of the time anymore. Blaine cries when he's _really_ upset. I don't appreciate the fact that Kurt keeps making him _really_ upset."

"You're serious?" Wes asked. He knew David wasn't pleased, but this sounded… stronger than displeased.

"I don't think you ever got the full story." David said irritably. "Are you aware that Kurt said that Blaine runs to us for everything and that maybe he should just date one of us?"

Wes didn't answer. Yeah, that was a little frustrating… but people said stuff when they were upset. Wes had run his mouth enough to know that.

"My question to you is this. When something goes wrong, where else can Blaine _go_ but to me or you?" David asked slowly. "And why is it any of Kurt's business if Blaine feels like he needs to go to us? We are his best _friends_. It sounds to me like—."

"Like maybe someone should talk to Kurt." Wes interrupted. "And not to—."

"No. Maybe someone should talk to Blaine and knock some sense into him. He deserves better than someone who doesn't try to keep him from going to the closest thing to family that he has. Because Kurt sure wasn't acting like 'family' when this shit went down." David interrupted Wes this time, sounding angry. "I know that I can be protective of Blaine, but you have got to admit that there have been several times that Kurt has wronged Blaine."

"I'm sure there are times that Blaine has wronged Kurt too, though. Like that whole Alec fiasco that got blown way out of proportion." Wes argued.

"Which Kurt ran away during. Thank you for helping back up my point. It's fine for _Kurt_ to run away from a fight but when _Blaine_ does it, it's suddenly a big issue."

"Blaine doesn't need to _break up_ with Kurt. They need to make up and work through their problems. I know right this minute Blaine isn't happy, but overall… Look. I live with him. He's _happy_. With Kurt. He needs Kurt."

"Blaine doesn't _need_ someone who doesn't treat him right. What Blaine needs is someone who appreciates him and someone who doesn't put him into situations where he's uncomfortable and—."

"You make it sound like Kurt doesn't even love him or something." Wes scoffed. "They have been together for _years_. Do you think Blaine would stay with someone who treated him like shit?"

"He probably thinks Kurt is good for him because being in an unhealthy relationship is better than living with parents who are so horrible to the point that you call your friend, telling him you think you're about to kill yourself."

"That is completely unrelated. You're just bringing it up to make an invalid point!" Wes said, becoming angry. "Don't _talk_ about that"

"I'm just saying that anything looks good compared to what he had before."

"Don't talk about… that."

"Come off of it, Wes. It happened. It's all good and well to move past it, but it is something that is always in the back of my mind any time Blaine is struggling with school or Kurt."

"He's better." Wes snapped. "And just how long have you thought Kurt wasn't good for Blaine?"

"Just since this last argument. The more I hear, the more I don't like."

"So what? You're just getting Blaine to vent to you so you can feed it?" Wes asked angrily. Had David played a part in dragging this on so long?

"I'm just being a friend and letting him talk. I'm not telling him my opinion on anything. It isn't my place."

"Good. Keep your opinions to yourself. I'm going to call Kurt back again, tell him exactly what he's done wrong, and then I'm going to go and make Blaine do something _healthy_ that doesn't involve venting or getting angry. Bye, David."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No, I'm not mad at you. I just think you have no idea what is good for Blaine right now which is something I've never thought before." Wes sighed before hanging up and going to call Kurt. And people wanted to know why he didn't want a serious relationship?

It sure didn't seem like much fun from the outside, so why be inside?

* * *

"Momma, Momma, Momma!" Melody squealed. "Momma, the pick-ture! Momma, look! _Look_!"

Kurt closed the front door and hung his scarf on the hook next to it before setting his messenger bag on the floor. Kreacher pranced up, circling his feet and then putting his paws on Kurt's shins.

"Hey, you." Kurt kneeled down at scooped him up. "I see Melody isn't in bed yet."

Kreacher whined and licked Kurt's chin.

"Hey, hon." Carole smiled as Kurt came into the kitchen. "I already have a plate made for you. Burt won't be back until late. They have a bit of an emergency at the shop."

"Car blew up!" Melody giggled.

"The car didn't blow up." Carole shook her head. "Silly girl."

"OREO!" Melody dived under the table, reemerging with Blaine's cat. "Momma, I wanna talk to Blaine!"

"It's pretty late. We'll call him tomorrow." Carole promised. "Go and get into your pajamas, okay?"

"Don't wanna go to bed!"

"You don't have to go to bed yet. I just want you to put your pajamas on."

Kurt sat Kreacher down and took three steps towards Melody. "Go, Mellie, go!"

Melody shrieked and scurried from the room, giggling.

"Thank you." Carole laughed. "Nobody can get her to get ready for bed as easy as you, hon."

"Another one of my many gifts, I guess." Kurt forced a smile, shrugging his shoulders. "Carole, can we talk?"

"Of course we can. Is everything alright?" Carole asked, looking concerned. "Are things still not any better with Blaine?"

Kurt took a seat at the table and shook his head, looking down. "Wes told me to give him some space so I haven't talked to him in four days. Wes thought that might help…"

"So you two haven't been talking at all?" Carole frowned, taking a seat next to him. "He never even mentioned that."

"At least he talks to you. The most I even got before was email." Kurt mumbled, laying both hands flat on the table and staring at them. "Did Blaine tell you exactly what happened?"

"No. The most he ever says is if he's talked to you yet that day or not." Carole said honestly, watching Kurt sadly.

"I was stupid. Of course. I'm always the stupid one when it comes to this stuff." Kurt tucked one leg under him and bit his lip. "There is this guy that I intern with. His name is Derek. He's one of Alec's friends. The one you met at the mall?"

"You intern with Alec's boyfriend?"

"No. That's _Eric_. It's complicated. All of their names sound alike." Kurt laughed a bit. "But it is Alec and Derek that I usually get dinner with after work and stuff."

"Yeah?" Carole asked, listening intently.

"Only once Alec couldn't make it."

Carole nodded, realization seeming to literally _fill_ her face. So she remembered the whole Alec fiasco. It wasn't too hard to put at least a few pieces of the puzzle together once remembering _that._ "Ah."

"Yeah. Ah. Derek tried to… make a move on me, I guess. He started talking bad about Blaine. He was saying how Blaine was stupid to go to Harvard. That he should have waited a year so we could have been closer."

Carole pursed her lips, not speaking. She of course wouldn't say what she thought of the situation, but Kurt was sure it was everything Kurt had thought when Derek had said the words to _him_.

Kurt took a deep breath. "And then he touched my leg."

Carole sat up straighter.

"I don't know why. I just got so _mad_. I kind of went off a bit. I told him about the attack and how Blaine had taken care of me and how he had done enough already and that he didn't need to put his life on hold for me. If he'd tried to postpone going a year and I knew, I never would have left him." _Don't get angry,_ Kurt thought to himself. _Don't get angry._

Carole nodded, listening intently.

"Then I left." Kurt continued, calming himself. "At first I didn't want to tell Blaine because I didn't want him to over react. Then I didn't want to tell him because I was afraid that he'd think the things Derek said was true. I truly want Blaine to be at Harvard and live his dream. I _do_."

"Of course you do." Carole nodded. "That's what everyone wants for him."

"There's more to it though… The last night Blaine was in Ohio and we went out with Alec and Eric… and Derek showed up."

"And by this point Blaine knew what had happened?" Carole questioned.

"Yes. And because of that, Blaine… was not nice at all." Kurt said slowly.

"Which is completely understandable." Carole said.

"Derek sat at the table uninvited. Then Eric, Alec's boyfriend, kept making these comments that were aimed at Derek. Blaine wasn't really talking, but he texted me and said that he wanted to leave… and I said that we'd leave soon but I didn't want to be rude." Kurt glanced up at her, finally not looking down.

"Why would it have been rude for you to leave?" Carole asked. It didn't sound as if she was judging him. It merely sounded like she was curious.

"I work with him." Kurt tried to explain lamely. It sounded stupid even as the words came out of his mouth. "I don't want to make anybody mad. I don't want anything negative associated with my name."

Carole watched him, now looking confused. "If he was your _friend_ , it may have looked rude to excuse yourself and leave when he came. But if he's just your coworker at an internship, I don't think you should have worried about that."

Kurt nodded, not really knowing what to say to that.

"But he's just you're coworker technically, right? Or did you continue to get dinner with Alec and him after?"

"I… went out to dinner with him once. With Alec." Kurt admitted, looking back down. "I didn't _want_ to."

"Can I ask you something?" Carole asked. "You can say no."

"Sure." Kurt sighed.

"If you know that this boy tried to pursue you, why on earth would you still go out to dinner with him after the fact?" Carole questioned. "Especially since it's pretty clear that this boy has something to do with whatever is going on with you and Blaine."

Kurt didn't answer. Honestly, what was there even to _say_?

"But you and Blaine stayed after this boy sat down uninvited?" Carole prompted, trying to get back on track with the original discussion.

"Yes. Blaine was being very quiet."

"I'm sure he felt very uncomfortable in that situation. I can't imagine any sane person who wouldn't react negatively if the person who had attempted to steal their boyfriend sat down at the table uninvited." Carole remarked, but still not unkindly.

"Long story short, Blaine and I went to the bathroom. I tried to ask him to be nice—which I now realize I shouldn't have done." Kurt said before they could get on _that_. He'd been down that road with Alec. "Then Alec came in and Blaine left. By the time we got out, Derek was alone at the table."

"Derek the coworker?"

"Yes. The coworker was inside and Eric was out with Blaine trying to calm him down."

Carole started at Kurt, now looking concerned. He absolutely adored that Carole had such a connection to Blaine. Blaine needed someone like her in his life.

"Apparently Derek made jabs at the fact that Blaine doesn't have familial support. He said it was horrible that Blaine lived with us because his parents kicked him out and that he should have just gone home, but he sensed daddy issues."

"Oh no." Carole gasped.

"I think that pushed him over the edge." Kurt frowned. "He kept trying to get me to leave. He was so upset that he was almost crying. But I didn't want to ruin our last night, so I kept trying to tell him to just talk about it and then we'd go see the movie. I didn't want him to be mad his last day here."

Carole nodded.

"Eventually he got so mad that he… left. He went to David's. He came early the next morning to get his stuff… David took him to the airport." Kurt swallowed hard, fighting tears.

"Did you two talk it through before David took him?"

"It was very… tense." Kurt sighed. "He said that I'd put him in an uncomfortable position, that he felt as though I had put Derek ahead of him, that I was being selfish in wanting to stay, that it was wrong to not believe him when he said Derek had said those things to him… but I just automatically assumed he built that up in his head too. He just gets so _angry_ , Carole. He goes from zero to one hundred in a second. That or he lets stuff build until it just explodes and it…" he sighed again and trailed off, lamely shrugging his shoulders. "I should have gotten him out of there but I didn't and now it's blown up into something so big that I don't even know where he stands in our relationship."

"Do you think that there is a reason he holds stuff in or gets so angry?" she asked gently.

"I think he has a lot of trouble trusting people." Kurt took a deep breath in and then let it out slowly. "I never told Derek anything about—."

"Let's do one thing at a time, okay?" Carole said, putting her hand over his. "We've got time."

"He doesn't trust me." Kurt said, tears filling his eyes. He was so sick of crying. It felt like all he did was mope or cry lately.

"I'm sure that isn't true." Carole scooted her chair closer to his, putting her hand on his back. "You know him better than me, of course. But I think that he trusts you very much. Maybe too much for his liking."

Kurt sniffled. "What do you mean?"

"I don't think he's used to having people there for him. He was abused. He may not see it that way or want to admit it, but he was abused emotionally and physically on more than one occasion." Carole whispered. "It takes a lot for people who have been abused to open up. Hasn't he opened up a lot since you met him? I remember the first time I ever saw him, you never would have known. He was so charming and well-spoken and always had that bright smile on his face."

Kurt nodded.

"That means there was a lot hidden under there." Carole rubbed his back. "But look at how much he's opened up to you, Kurt. He's trusted you with a lot of stuff. I know Burt and I know the bare minimum about what happened but I bet you know all of it. If not all, then most. That says a lot, Kurt, given the fact that it's hard for him to open up regardless."

Kurt nodded, remembering when Blaine told him about his father stealing money and asking him to not tell Wes and David. Maybe Blaine really _did_ trust him. Did that mean that the trust was broken now, because he was under the impression Kurt was giving away facts about Blaine's family life?

"Carole, I really didn't tell Derek anything about Blaine's family. All I said was that he took care of me after the attack. I _know_ I didn't say anything about that." Kurt looked Carole right in the eye.

"Did you tell Blaine that?"

"Yes. Several times. He told me that he'd rather I fess up that it was a mistake than lie." Kurt bit his lip.

"Have you ever been drunk around him?" Carole questioned. "Did you maybe send a text to him on accident about it?"

"I don't talk about it with _anyone_." Kurt felt tears prickling his eyes again and he rapidly blinked. "I would never tell anyone about that."

"How would he have found out?" Carole asked, looking genuinely puzzled.

"I don't know." Kurt said miserably, throwing his hands in the air. "I have no idea but it wasn't from me. He knew Blaine was rich and _everything_. I don't understand."

"He could have been blindly guessing. Blaine just seems…" Carole trailed off. "I don't know. He carries himself that way. You can tell that he's had etiquette classes and things like that. He sits up very straight at tables; he's always well groomed, even the way he talks. He could have guessed Blaine was rich or well off financially. The father thing though… I just don't know how you could guess that."

"I don't know if it even matters how he figured it out… Either way, Blaine thinks I told him and doesn't believe me when I say I didn't. If it ends the fight, though, I'm about to just tell him I slipped up so he'll stop."

"But then you would be lying." Carole shook her head. "And avoiding the real problem."

"I just want things to go back to normal. Is that so wrong?" Kurt looked at her, looking impossibly sad.

"Well when there are problems to be addressed and they get pushed aside, it _is_ wrong." Carole nodded. "Because when you don't be an adult and handle things the proper way, they don't get fixed. That's the difference in a healthy, mature relationships and an unhealthy, immature one…"

"He barely talks to me. The only time I would even get regular responses would be through email. I think it's hard for him to talk about his feelings… so writing is fine. But it's gotten to the point now where if we talk on the phone, we either argue the whole time or he doesn't really… talk."

"I think his friend Wes is right. I think he needs some time."

"In four days, it will have been one month." Kurt said shortly. "If he cannot get over in it a month, what does that say about our relationship?"

"It says that there are things that you need to work on..." Carole put her hand over his and squeezed it. "But if you try to pressure him into talking before he's ready, you're only going to push him farther away."

"Well I don't think he's going to want to talk to me any time soon." Kurt let out a hollow laugh.

"Momma, I'm thiiiiirsty!" Melody said, running up and standing between their chairs. "Want apple juice!"

Carole squeezed Kurt's hand and stood. "Alright, Mellie. But you have to pee before you go to bed. You can't pee in your bed, have Kurt change you, and take over his room again."

"Can so." Melody argued. "He loves me!"

"He loves you very much but I'm sure he likes his bed to himself too." Carole poured Melody a small glass of apple juice and brought it over to her.

"He shares it with the doggy." Melody pouted. "I doesn't like my bed, momma."

"I think your bed is precious." Kurt bent down in his seat, kissing the top of her head.

"You like pink." Melody giggled.

"I do." Kurt ruffled her hair.

Melody turned, going out of the room and happily sipping on her apple juice as Carole sat down next to Kurt once again. "Why do you not think he's going to want to talk to you?"

"The last time that we talked on the phone, we got into an argument. He got really upset and I… I told him that I think he has an anger problem."

Carole looked him in the eyes, her own eyes widening. "Do you really think he does?"

Kurt looked up at the ceiling. "Yes."

Carole frowned.

"He's never laid a hand on me. The worst thing that ever happened was when he called me an idiot back in my freshman year… but he gets so angry and just… doesn't get over it. I've tried so many times to ask what I can do, to get him to talk, to apologize, to make it right. I spent two whole weeks before he just started the email thing." Kurt said, not looking away from the ceiling. "But he just dwells on stuff and gets madder and madder. All the time. Not only over this Derek thing. He does it about _everything_ that upsets him, Carole, and it isn't healthy."

"No, it's not." Carole agreed. "But it could have been avoided in this instance… if you had taken him home when he first asked."

"I know that." Kurt said, sitting up straight again. "And I feel horrible about it. Like I've told him a thousand times."

"What did he say when you accused him of having an anger problem?"

"That was over the phone… He hung up on me without a word and then he emailed me like half an hour later. He kept saying that his dad would push him and Alex i-into walls and yell at t-them and g-get physical a few t-times and say awful t-things. And that h-he'd say mean things to h-his mom. And Carole he was so y-young when Alex w-would have been there." Kurt wiped his eyes as tears began to fall. He hated thinking of a younger Blaine going through anything like that. He hated that he brought up those types of memories. He hated everything that had to do with Blaine's past. "An-And that means h-he was around it f-for…"

Carole rubbed his back as he pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes, trying to stop his tears.

"H-He said that he didn't have an anger problem. T-That his dad did."

"His dad clearly did." Carole agreed quietly, rubbing his back.

"I don't know what to do, Carole. Wes doesn't want me to talk to him. He wants him to come to me. B-But he's not coming to me." Kurt's shoulders began to shake. "I don't know how to f-fix this."

Carole didn't stop her hand's movement on her back. "Hon, I think Blaine's hurt that he felt like you were putting someone else over him… and he's upset because you didn't get him out of that situation. I think it's lasted so long because you two aren't _with_ each other. It keeps getting postponed so his anger is building and your frustration is building. But it's an argument. You two have had several before. You'll get through it, sweetie. You two just need to talk it through. And if yelling is how he wants to express that anger, then _let him_. You may think he has an anger problem and maybe he does—that's his choice to make, not ours. But that boy is never going to hurt you. You two may argue but that's all it will ever be, sweetie."

"I don't think he would ever hit me. I just… I worry about him doing that to himself."

"Well that is a discussion for another day." Carole sighed, touching his face and wiping under his eyes with her thumb. "If you two love each other, it will all be okay. I know you love him and I know he loves you. It'll be okay, honey. People make mistakes."

"I d-didn't mean to make him feel this way." Kurt took a deep breath, trying to stop his tears. "I didn't want him to feel like he wasn't important."

"Why don't you show him?"

Kurt sniffled. "What do you mean?"

"Don't call him. Send him a gift. Something that isn't calling and apologizing… but something to make him smile. So he can know that even though you haven't talked in a few days… that you're still thinking about him." Carole leaned over, kissing the top of his head. "I'm sure you can figure out something to do, hon. It'll be okay."

Kurt stayed sitting as she stood and excused herself to get Melody ready for bed.

He was pretty sure he knew just what he would do to show Blaine he cared and missed him.

* * *

"You got something in the mail today." Wes called five days later when Blaine made it in from his classes.

"Thanks." Blaine went into the living room, yawning.

"I put it in your room." Wes said, not even looking up from three textbooks that he had in front of him.

"Gross." Blaine cringed, looking at all of the letters in numbers.

Wes held his hand to his head, miming a shooting gun, and then turned the page.

"Pizza tonight?"

"I got pizza hut earlier with one of the guys from class. Chinese?"

"I'm sick of Chinese."

"We'll figure something out. I'll probably be about two hours, though."

"Mmkay." Blaine slumped towards his bedroom, throwing himself on the bed. He then looked at his desk, seeing a box. It was from Kurt, the label in his loopy and elegant handwriting. He pushed himself up and dragged the box onto the bed with him, using his car key to get into the box. He was used to getting care packages from Carole, but he very rarely got actual packages from Kurt.

He pulled out packing paper and found a letter, a tin box, and a photo album.

Blaine pulled out the photo album, immediately beginning to flip through it. The most recent pictures were first—Kurt and Blaine asleep on the couch together after Christmas Eve dinner, them in front of the tree, them playing out in the snow with Finn and Melody. Thanksgiving pictures, pictures of Blaine's going away dinner, pictures from his UK graduation, pictures of Kurt and Blaine at Kurt's first mock fashion show the previous spring, all the way to the first picture of them together taken at a Warbler get together when they barely knew each other.

He bit his lip, fighting a smile. How had Kurt even found all of these pictures? They had thought the older ones were lost somewhere in Kurt's attic from their move.

He grabbed the tin, curiously opening it and nearly dropping it.

 _Potato candy_.

Freaking _potato candy in February._

"Fine. Fine." Blaine sighed, closing the tin without taking a piece and opening the letter. He didn't _want_ to read it. But, okay. He really did. He was ready to move past this. He really was.

_Blaine,_

_I know you're still upset with me and I know you need some time to just think things through without me saying I'm sorry. I guess I've spent too much time apologizing and not enough time letting you even think anything over or... well, much of anything. I'm sorry if you feel like I was badgering you. I really love you and the thought of you so far away and mad at me is scary because I want things to be good between us. And right now they aren't very good._

_Instead of saying sorry again, I'm going to try to explain myself. If you aren't ready to hear this or if you still need some time, read it whenever. I don't want you to feel forced into listening to me talk. That's why I sent it in a letter. Read whenever you want and respond whenever you want… I just hope you do eventually._

_I should have listened to you from the beginning. I never should have put you in the position of sitting with someone who not only tried to make moves on me, but also someone who talked about you the way that Derek did. If you look at it as though I see Derek as a friend, I'm in the wrong because I put a friend over you. If you look at it as though I was scared of looking rude and it getting out at my internship, that is still bad because that means I put an internship over you. At the time, it didn't seem that way to me. I see why you would see it as both of those things, though._

_I am not Derek's friend. That time you mentioned that you saw on Facebook is the only time I have seen him outside of work since our fight. And I didn't even stay very long because I was incredibly uncomfortable being around him and I have been ever since Eric told me what he said to you. I don't want to talk to him period. I know that he took a blow at your biggest insecurity and that is not okay. I feel awful that I'm the one that even put you in the position for it to happen. As for looking bad at the internship… it's just an internship. While it can get me connections, nothing should be more important than you. I regret making you think that someone was…_

_I feel really bad about how I acted that night when you were upset. You probably felt like I was treating you like a spoiled little brat. I should have taken into consideration that you must have been really upset to have been acting like that, but for some reason I just didn't. I think I was so focused on wanting one last good night with you before you went back because I knew it would be a long time before I would get to see you again. I was so convinced that your behavior was ruining the night when I'd already ruined it when we didn't leave the second that Derek got there._

_You have to know that I did not tell Derek anything about your family. I would never do that. I have never even told Rachel or Mercedes about your family and home life and they are my best friends. I have never told Alec anything either. I wouldn't go around talking about that stuff with anyone because it is your business. You trusted me to keep it to myself when you told me and that is what I always intend to do. The only thing that I ever told Derek was that you left UK for a year to take care of me after the attack. I never said you lived with me, you were kicked out because of it, or anything. I said you took care of me after the attack. End of story. I don't know where Derek found out or if he was just mouthing off. But he didn't hear it from me. And I haven't told anyone else. I would never do that to you and it breaks my heart that you thought I ever would and that you won't believe me when I try to tell you that I didn't do it. I always thought you trusted me… but now I'm not so sure._

_I shouldn't have made the comment about you always running off to David or Wes when we fight or when something happens. You should have went and had some time to yourself. If I'd given you time to begin with, maybe you would have come back a few hours later that night and we could have talked things through and stopped this whole thing from happening. I've left more than once after a fight and it's hypocritical of me to act as though it's worse for you to do it than for me to do it._

_A lot went wrong, Blaine. I take full responsibility for the entire thing because if we'd just left at the beginning, it never would have gotten so big. I thought it had been blown out of proportion but I realize that my reaction to everything brought to light a lot of problems that we might be having. I treated you like a child when I should have taken you home, held you, and tried to make you feel better. I made you think friends or work came before you when I can promise you that that most certainly is not the case. But then there is also trust. You didn't believe me when I tried to tell you I didn't tell Derek those things. It never should have been a question. Even for a minute. I want things to go back to normal but more than anything, I want to fix the problems we have so we can be better in the future._

_I hope the photo album isn't too much. I found the pictures and looking at them made me happy. I don't want this right here to be us forever. I want to fill the last pages of the album with pictures of us later on, happy and together and in love._

_I'm not going to say I'm sorry again. I've said it enough that you know I am. And I don't even expect you to say you're sorry because I understand why you did every single thing that you did._

_I really want to hear your voice, Blaine. Please can we just talk this out and move forward? With each other?_

_Kurt  
_

Blaine read the letter three times and took a deep breath before going out and into the kitchen. "You talked to Kurt… more than telling him to back off."

"I want you two to be okay." Wes looked up from his homework that he was doing at the table.

"It was mine and Kurt's business." Blaine said lamely, although he wasn't mad.

"Are you two going to be okay?"

"I'm about to call him." Blaine sat by him at the table and looked down. "He made me potato candy."

Wes rolled his eyes, smirking. "He knows you better than you think, Blaine."

"I don't think he told Derek about my parents…" Blaine whispered. "I don't know why I thought he would. I just didn't… think that way until I read it in his words… And that's what I've been the _most_ angry about."

"Well, Blainers… It would appear as though you need to do some apologizing yourself." Wes said, clicking his pen lid repeatedly on and off of the pen. "And then you two can still go on that trip you planned two weeks from now and have really hot make up sex and run off and get married and pick up an orphan on the way back and name it Sherita."

"Uh… I guess I'll go and get on that then." Blaine walked towards the exit and then slowly turned around. "Is that a real name?"

"I don't know. God, you ask me questions like you think I'm _smart_ or something." Wes scoffed loudly. "You're so offensive."

"I know. It's not like you're getting your masters at Harvard or anything. God." Blaine scoffed also and then giggled.

"Go call your boytoy. I want details when you hang up, young man!" Wes called, uncapping his pen and bending back down over his book.

Blaine pulled his phone out of his pocket and walked through the living room, ignoring his other roommate's nasty look. It wasn't the time to worry about the asshole. It was time to worry about fixing things with Kurt.

He pushed Kurt's name on the screen, frowning when it went to voice mail. Right. Kurt was in class. He snorted a bit when he heard Kurt's, 'I probably won't call you back, but you can leave a message if you want.'

"Hey, Kurt. I know you're in class, so I'm leaving this. I bet you'll listen to it since it's me. Well, I hope you will." Blaine began somewhat awkwardly, making his way into his room. "I got the package. Thank you… Thank you a lot. The photo album and candy… That was really sweet and your letter… Look, thanks for giving me time to think. When… when you get out of class… maybe you can call? I miss your voice too and… and I'd like to have more pictures to add to the last pages of the photo album even though technically the new pictures are on the first pages. We can rearrange it together.… I love you, Kurt… Thank you, again… Please call… Okay, I love you, bye."

Now he just had to wait for Kurt to call him back.

…

Blaine, who was reading for school and eating some potato candy a few hours later, looked up abruptly when his phone buzzed. He felt a jolt of anxiousness go through him—but maybe there was some excitement too—as he pictured it up and unlocked it

_I'll call you in a few minutes._

Blaine sat up straight and stared at the text.

He would get to talk to Kurt in a few minutes. Their only communication for several days had been Kurt's lengthy letter and his voicemail, but soon that would be changing. He didn't even know what he would say to Kurt. Kurt had been pretty spot on in his letter about the things that had been bothering him. Apart from the fact that it was Kurt's way or no way. Which was something that he would try to address, because as long as they were talking… well, it would have been pointless to not be completely honest.

His phone started to ring, the beginning chords to Somewhere Only We Know (Yes, he was a sap. Sue him), and Blaine quickly accepted the call.

"Hey, babe." Kurt was the first to speak.

"Hey." Blaine's voice was quiet.

"How are—."

"What are—."

Kurt and Blaine both trailed off, Blaine biting his lip and looking down.

"How are you?" Kurt asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Better. A lot better since I opened your package…Thank you. It… It means a lot to me." Blaine pulled the photo album onto his lap, opening it and seeing an adorable picture of them kissing outside of Blaine's car one of the weekends before Kurt's attack when Blaine had visited. Things had been so different.

"I'm glad you liked it. I was afraid it would upset you or make you mad." Kurt admitted. "I just… wanted to let you know I was thinking about you. I always am."

Blaine felt himself smiling, turning the page in the photo album. "Thank you again. It… I love it."

"And here I thought you would be more excited for the potato candy."

Blaine scooted, leaning back against his pillows and taking a deep breath as slowly and quietly as possible. "What are you up to?"

"I just made it to my car. I'm about to be on my way home from school… If you want, I can talk until I make it to the daycare to pick Mellie up."

"Okay."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Sorry about Wes getting involved. I guess he felt obligated…" Blaine mumbled, taking a bite of some potato candy.

"I'm glad he did… Are you… feeling better…?" Kurt asked awkwardly. "Well, you're talking to me and we're not arguing. I guess you are…"

"I feel better but we… still need to talk." Blaine switched his phone to his other ear, turning another page in his album.

"About the fights?"

"Sort of. I just… I want to apologize for not believing you when you said that you didn't tell Derek about my family. I… If I had been thinking straight, I would have but I was really upset." Blaine sighed. "I really am sorry for that. If you say you didn't say anything, you didn't say anything."

"I'm sorry for saying you had an anger problem." Kurt whispered, starting his car and locking his doors. "I'm sorry for everything else I already apologized for still, but I haven't talked to you since that comment… and I really am sorry. It's something I shouldn't have brought up in an argument… and especially in the way I did, like everything was your fault. Most of it was my fault and I admit that. I admit that and I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry…"

Kurt let out a relieved sigh. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Kurt." Blaine said, feeling the knots in his stomach begin to slowly unravel.

"I've really missed you." Kurt said. "I'm sorry I 'badgered' you for three weeks."

"I've missed you too."

"Are you sure we shouldn't talk about it anymore?"

"I just want to forget it, Kurt." Blaine opened his mouth and then closed it again, swallowing. "We've both said everything more than once… There's no need to go through it all again."

"Okay." Kurt said after several seconds. "We'll leave the door open for discussion if we want to later, though."

"That works for me." Blaine moved into a laying position, looking to the side of his room where his fish tank was and watching his fish swim around.

"Did Melody call you yesterday?" Kurt questioned, trying to break the tension.

Blaine let out a laugh. "Yes."

"Oh God. What did she say?"

"She told me that she had too many toys to clean up so Carole needed to have two more kids so they could clean them." Blaine giggled.

"She's been saying the _weirdest_ things. She told me that dad was a dinosaur eater the other day." Kurt shook his head.

"She's something else." Blaine said, still smiling.

"She is." Kurt laughed a bit. "She misses you. She always talks about wanting to call you."

"She should call more then."

"I miss you more than her, you know."

Blaine's smile grew. "You should call me more then."

"Only if you promise to keep hanging up on me and calling me an ass."

"You deserved it at least half of the times." Blaine laughed.

"I probably deserved it all of the time." Kurt sighed quietly. "Babe, I really am—."

"Let's forget about it, okay?" Blaine asked, attempting to sound cheerful.

"So we're okay?"

"Yeah. We're okay." Blaine set the photo album on his nightstand and then pulled his knees to his chest, resting his chin on them. "Do you still want to meet halfway on our three day weekend next week?"

"Yes." Kurt said instantly, causing Blaine to smile again. "If you do, yes. A thousand times, yes."

"I… I do want to."

"It will be good for us." Kurt responded, sounding genuinely pleased.

"I hope so. It will be nice to get a full night's sleep with you. I miss sleeping with you more than anything…" Blaine admitted.

"I feel the same way." Kurt sighed. "But next year we'll be closer… and soon we'll live together again. Two and a half years isn't that long…"

"I really hope these past few weeks aren't an indication of what the next two and a half years will be like." Blaine said in a joking tone, but he was being completely serious.

"We'll get better at this. I promise." Kurt said instantly, not even pausing to think. "We _have_ to."


	9. Chapter 9

Blaine sulked into the house, staring at his planner.

MD Monday 10:40 AM

Which meant that his mock trial had been moved up a week… which meant that Blaine would not be able to meet Kurt in three days for their three day weekend… which also meant that he was pushing back plans again.

He sighed and tossed his messenger bag onto the couch, scowling.

"What's up, buttercup?" Wes chirped, coming into the room grinning.

"Mock trial got moved up." Blaine sighed a bit.

"What? Can they _do_ that?"

"Technically, we offered to do it." Blaine frowned. "This girl's grandfather is in the hospital and probably won't make it. Her trial was meant to be on Monday but she has to go to Wyoming or something… And there aren't exactly make ups at Harvard."

"So you and your partner switched dates with her?"

"Nobody else was going to." Blaine bit his lip. "Kurt's going to kill me."

"Kurt's not going to kill you. He's reasonable." Wes rolled his eyes. "You probably saved that girl's career."

"I know. I just miss him. I was really looking forward to seeing him." Blaine sat on the couch. "And now I have to call and tell him we can't meet. We still aren't even completely back to normal after the last fight."

Wes shrugged. "You two will be fine. Just call him and tell him now, that way he won't have his hopes up. Maybe you can meet him next weekend instead?"

"That's a good idea…" Blaine nodded. "Hopefully he'll talk to me long enough for me to suggest it."

"Don't be so dramatic, Blainers." Wes nudged him and then went down the hall towards his bedroom. "Call your lover!"

"Right." Blaine grabbed his phone out of his bag and then sat on the couch. Call Kurt. He should probably do that sooner rather than later.

He had just began to punch in Kurt's number when his roommate walked through, sending him a dirty look.

"What is your problem?" Blaine snapped.

"That would be you." The guy grunted.

"Nobody is asking you to stay."

His roommate narrowed his eyes before stalking off.

"Asshole." Blaine muttered, standing and going to his bedroom. He had more important things to worry about. Like his boyfriend.

 _Can you talk?_ , Blaine texted Kurt and sat on his bed to wait for Kurt's response.

 _Always,_ Kurt responded.

Blaine smiled brightly and then called Kurt. "Hey!"

"I am so glad you called! I've spent all day looking up things for us to do on our three day weekend. There is this really great theater that we _have_ to go to. And, oh my God, one of the Top Ten Restaurants In America is there! We're going to go—and I'm paying, so do _not_ try to argue with me." Kurt prattled on.

"That sounds really amazing, Kurt."

"And I was _thinking_ maybe we can—."

"Kurt, Kurt… Hold on." Blaine interrupted, closing his eyes. This wouldn't go over well. "We need to talk."

"Oh no." Kurt said, excitement leaving his voice. "What's going on?"

"They pushed my project up. I can't meet you this weekend. I am _so_ sorry. The person who was supposed to go can't because her grandfather is, like, on his deathbed. She asked me to swap places otherwise she'd have to withdraw and—."

"Blaine, it's fine." Kurt interrupted him this time.

"Yeah?" Blaine asked, sounding hopeful.

"Of course I'm not going to kill you… It was really nice of you to do that for her."

"Yeah only I'm a week behind on preparing for it so I literally have no idea what I'm going to do. Meanwhile I need to decide if I'm going to stay here and start looking for places to apply for summer work or an internship because my loans won't carry me through the summer and I'm really, really stressed out right now." Blaine rambled.

"You'll be fine. What day will your project be now?"

"This Monday. It was going to be the next Monday." Blaine groaned. "I mean, I know I'll be fine. I just wish I had longer to prepare because I had a system and now my system is shot to hell and I… I don't regret saying I would do it but man..."

"It'll be okay."

"You're sad." Blaine sighed. "I can tell. Kurt, I'm really sorry."

"I'm sad I don't get to see you sooner, yes. But I would have done the same thing if it came to a project deadline and someone in my class was in the same situation." Kurt sighed a bit as well. "Will I not see you until spring break?"

"No! I mean, no. I was thinking that we could meet up _next_ weekend instead… If you can." Blaine said quickly. "I mean, can you? You don't _have_ to. I hope you can."

Kurt, who was seated at his desk, quickly stood and ran to grab his planner. His heart sank when he finally found the page for the following week. "I can't next weekend… I have two midterms."

"This _sucks_. Kurt, I'm so sorry."

"No, no, no. It's okay." Kurt reassured him, swallowing a lump in his throat. This always happened. "So it'll be four weeks. That's okay."

"It's not okay. I miss you so much." Blaine groaned again. "It's the hardest part of all of this."

"Just hang around Wes more. He'll cheer you up." Kurt said, trying to make his voice cheerful. It was hard though. Who did he have to cheer him up? Blaine usually did that. Sure, he had his family there… but it wasn't the same.

"You don't understand. I feel like we haven't talked in forever. I know it's because I pretty much refused to talk to you and the fight and everything but I just want to kiss you, okay?" Blaine said, pitifully.

Kurt smiled a bit, sadly. "I want to kiss you too. And hug you. And maybe some other things."

"Speaking of other things, I'm pretty sure Wes has some girl in his room now. I've failed at cockblocking today. I need to step up my A game."

Kurt laughed loudly, holding the phone out so he didn't hurt Blaine's ear. When he quit laughing and held the phone back to his ear, he heard Blaine giggling. "Why would you even do that?"

"I don't know. It's just turned into our thing. He makes it impossible to have phone and Skype sex because he's always here… I feel obligated." Blaine laughed.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "You're so weird."

"I know." Blaine smiled. "But you still love me."

"On Mondays and Tuesdays."

"Good thing it's Tuesday."

Kurt swallowed and bit his lip before speaking. "I do love you."

"I know. I love you too… It'll get better soon, right?"

"I don't know. We keep saying that and it's not happened yet, has it?"

Blaine took a deep breath, clearly trying to decide what to say. What could he say, though? It was true. Their situation wasn't ideal and it didn't seem to be getting any easier to handle.

Kurt interrupted his thoughts by speaking again. "Hey, listen. I promised Carole that I'd go out to dinner with her and Melody since Dad's working late again, so I need to get ready. She wants to go somewhere nice and you know how long it takes me to get ready to go anywhere nice."

"I wish I could take you somewhere nice."

"When we see each other, we have to have a makeup Valentine's dinner." Kurt pointed out. "We'll just go somewhere really nice then."

"Alright. Well, I love you. Call me later tonight?" Blaine asked.

"I'll call around bedtime. I love you, Blaine. Bye."

"Bye."

Kurt hung up, smiling widely as Carole and Melody came into the house.

"Hey, hon!" Carole smiled and touched his face. "Did you have a good day at school?"

"Yeah, it was alright." Kurt shrugged a bit.

"What's wrong?" Carole asked, looking concerned.

"Blaine can't meet this weekend. It's no big deal." Kurt lied, shrugging again. Too much shrugging. He was going to give himself away.

"Oh, sweetie… I'm sorry. I know you were looking forward to seeing him." Carole frowned.

Kurt looked down as Melody wrapped her arms around his leg, nuzzling him. "It's okay. I'm kind of getting used to it. I think I'm more annoyed I didn't expect it."

Carole opened her mouth but Kurt shook his head, smiling.

"Really. It's whatever. Just let me change and I'll be ready to go." Kurt scooped Melody up. "Want to help me decide what to wear?"

"The purple one, Kurt! The purple shirt! And the yellow pants!"

"Clearly you don't get your fashion sense from me." Kurt joked, carrying Melody off to her room.

"I drew you a pick-ture today! It's you… you and Blaine and the doggy!" Melody exclaimed as Kurt tossed her onto the bed (very carefully, of course) and went to his closet.

"Did you?" Kurt gasped, opening the door and then looking back at her with his mouth hanging open.

"It's pretty!" Melody nodded happily.

"I'll have to frame it!" Kurt smiled and then pulled a pair of jeans and Melody's favorite purple button down shirt out of his closet.

"Perfecto!" Melody giggled.

"Blue jeans will go with purple shirts better than yellow pants." Kurt said slowly, tapping her nose.

"But I like yellow and purple." Melody protested, jumping off of the bed.

"Well I don't think they go together in the way you wanted me to wear them."

Melody pouted, crossing her arms over his chest.

"However your purple and yellow dress is really pretty. Maybe mommy will let you wear it?" Kurt asked, arching his eyebrow.

Melody giggled loudly. "I don't wanna, Kuuuuurt!"

"Okay." Kurt scooped her up. "Because I think you look gorgeous in what you're wearing."

Melody giggled again and nuzzled his shoulder. "I love you, Kurt."

"When I'm complimenting you." Kurt kissed the top of her head. "Can I get dressed?"

"Uh huh." Melody sat still when Kurt placed her on his bed and went into his attached bathroom, leaving the door open. "I miss Blaine."

"Me too, sweetie." Kurt came out of the bathroom, straightening his shirt. "But we'll see him in a month."

Melody hopped off of the bed, taking Kurt's hand as they walked out. "Ready, mommy!"

Carole, who had just finished getting ready, smiled happily. "Well, let's go!"

…

"I'm sorry you won't get to see Blaine for a while, Kurt." Carole said halfway into their dinner.

"Me too but it's fine." Kurt forced a smile, taking a bite of his salad as Melody colored her activity sheet that the waitress had given her. He shrugged a bit. "Does he talk to you a lot? He probably does."

"I haven't heard from him in over a week actually." Carole admitted. "He's just busy."

"I can't believe he hasn't talked to _you_." Kurt looked genuinely shocked.

"He'll call when he has time. I'm sure he's got a lot on his plate. Just like _you_ do. I got up to get some water at four and your light was still on, Kurt." Carole looked at him. "I hope you're getting enough sleep, hon."

"I slept late this morning." Kurt promised. "I just wanted to get it done. Sometimes it's easier to stay up late than to get up early."

Carole patted his arm and smiled. "You're so close to graduating. Less than a semester."

Kurt smiled, this one not forced. "It's a little surreal. I should be getting a Parsons letter in the next five weeks."

"You'll get in. You got in for an undergraduate degree, so there's no doubt in my mind that you'll get in."

Kurt's smile grew. "Thanks."

"Do you know where you're going to live?"

"Well Rachel and Mercedes are going to move in together and Quinn doesn't want to leave her apartment, so I'm going to stay with Quinn."

Melody reached over, pulling a mini tomato out of Kurt's salad and popping it into her mouth.

"Melody!" Carole gasped.

Melody giggled and gave Kurt a sweet smile.

"Little booger." Kurt ruffled her hair and put a few more of his tomatoes on her plate.

"I'm not a booooooger!" Melody squealed, nuzzling his arm.

"If you say so." Kurt laughed.

Melody ate another one of his tomatoes and went back to coloring, humming as she did.

"I haven't even gotten to talk to Blaine about it yet." Kurt said, looking Carole in the eye. "He literally has no idea what my plans are. He just never has time to talk. He's always busy… and lately, he spends half the time we're on the phone talking to his mock trial partner."

"I'm sure it's because he's spending so much time with his partner." Carole frowned. "He cares about you a lot, Kurt."

"I know that. I do." Kurt said, his voice firm. "But it doesn't make it any easier. Sometimes it's like I'm putting in more. And then I feel bad for thinking that because this is his _dream_ but we should be important too."

"Long distance relationships are hard, hon. They're a lot of work. There will be plenty of ups and downs but if you keep at it, it will get better."

"It feels pretty hopeless right now."

"Have you talked to him about it?"

"I hate to talk about depressing things when we talk…" Kurt sighed and looked down. "Plus, it kind of feels like something I should say in person, you know? That way some assignment can't get in the way."

"Focus on the things that make you happy." Carole squeezed his hand, watching him carefully. "Hold onto that."

Kurt looked at Carole's hand on his, his eyes zoning in on his promise ring that didn't seem to mean as much as it had a few years ago when Blaine had given it to him.

"Blaine makes me happy… when I have him." Kurt whispered. "It's just so hard to fight for him this much. What if he'd be happier…" he trailed off.

"What if he'd be happier what?" Carole asked, meeting his eyes.

"I don't know." Kurt forced a smile. "Never mind."

"Your happiness matters too, Kurt." Carole squeezed his hand once again. "Don't forget that."

Kurt nodded and squeezed her hand back. "I won't…"

Carole gave his hand another squeeze before turning her attention to Melody and her drawing. "Is that Oreo, hon?"

"Yeah! Oreo wants to see Blaine at dogger school!" Melody nodded eagerly.

 _Yeah, me too,_ Kurt thought to himself before his eyes widened.

And why _couldn't_ he go see Blaine at Harvard?

So Blaine couldn't meet half way… Maybe Kurt would just go all the way this time.

* * *

This was going to be _great_.

Kurt couldn't remember very many times that he'd surprised Blaine, but he'd definitely never surprised Blaine quite like this.

He assumed Blaine would be busy a great deal of the time, of course. _However_ , they would at least get to _sleep_ together. He would get to feel Blaine's arms around him, they would get to kiss goodnight, kiss in the morning when they woke up. Even if Blaine wasn't able to spend time with him apart from when they were sleeping, it would still be worth it.

He only hoped the visit went well. There had been enough fights between them to last four years as far as Kurt was concerned. Maybe things could look up for them now, maybe it would be alright. Maybe they would be okay.

He took a deep breath, stopped at Blaine's doorstep, and knocked.

_Please let it not be the asshole roommate… please let it not be the assh—_

"Kurt! Hey! I didn't know you were coming—wait. Does Blaine know you're coming?" Wes threw open the door, grinning.

"I thought I'd surprise him since he couldn't meet—Blaine!" Kurt beamed, beyond excited. It was _Blaine_. And he looked good. Frazzled, maybe, but _good_. Then again, he was gorgeous. When did he ever _not_ look good?

"What are you—What-?" Blaine, who was now in the doorway holding a burrito and wearing a very confused look on his face, looked at Kurt. "Kurt?"

"I figured I could come to you that way you can get work done and we can spend some time together when you're free." Kurt smiled, stepping up to him. "This way we don't have to wait until spring break to see each other."

"Why would you do that without talking to me?" Blaine asked, now looking somewhere between confused and annoyed.

Kurt felt his heart drop to his stomach. This was not what he'd been expecting. Blaine wasn't happy to see him. _Blaine wasn't happy to see him_.

Wes coughed loudly, sending Blaine a look.

"I thought you would be _happy_." Kurt's smile fell and he tried to push away the coldness that was kind of sweeping into his heart, into his stomach, taking over everything. Because Blaine didn't want him here.

"I pushed back our trip for a reason, Kurt." Blaine said slowly, frowning.

"You sounded upset and I wanted to surprise you." Kurt swallowed and then looked Blaine in the eye. Why did he feel this way? He had never felt unwanted in Blaine's presence before.

"I have a lot to do this weekend, Kurt. I thought you understood that." Blaine's facial expression softened and he moved forward, pulling Kurt into a hug. "I love you."

"I love you." Kurt wrapped his arms tightly around Blaine, holding him close.

"I'm sorry. I'm just surprise is all." Blaine mumbled into his hair, giving him a squeeze. "I love you so much."

Kurt smiled and pulled away, touching Blaine's face. "You dropped your burrito."

"Damn." Blaine pouted a bit and then picked it up, tossing it out into their large garbage can that was outside their porch ("because it's easier to take it out on Monday mornings, Blainers. Duh."). "I thought about that burrito for a long time."

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"For like four days, Kurt. I'm not exaggerating."

"Oh my goodness. You haven't had time to get Taco Bell?" Kurt gasped. "Are you sure I'm not seeing a ghost?"

Wes, who had left the area, walked back up and punched Blaine in the stomach. He then grinned and said cheerfully, "Not a ghost! My hand didn't go through!"

"Thank you for that assessment, Wes." Blaine grunted.

"Anything for you, Blainer Boo." Wes patted his head and then went back into the house.

"Here, here, let me get your bag." Blaine said, coming to his senses and picking up Kurt's bag. "I really am glad to see you. Sorry, I'm just stressing a lot now. It's a lot of work we have to get done over the weekend and both Adrian and I have been busy for other classes so we're more behind than we should be… for being really behind already."

"I'm glad to see you too." Kurt gave him a genuine smile, leaning and wrapping his arms around Blaine in a tight hug. "I've missed you so much."

Blaine dropped his bag, arms going around Kurt and giving him a tight squeeze. "I missed you too."

Kurt closed his eyes, wanting to stay wrapped in his arms forever. He smiled when Blaine pulled back and then kissed him slowly. Blaine stiffened when a throat cleared.

Kurt pulled away, licking his lips. He then turned behind him, seeing Blaine's other roommate. He'd only seen the guy once or twice before and the exchanges hadn't been particularly friendly, so Kurt wasn't about to say anything.

"Is he, like, staying here again?" The guy asked bluntly, scowling.

"Are you?" Blaine asked, a sarcastic sweetness in his voice.

"That's just fucking disgusting." The guy scoffed and stormed past them, making his way to his bedroom.

"Kurt, Asshole. Asshole, Kurt. I'm sure you remember him." Blaine scowled himself. "I hate that guy. I think I'd rather spend an hour alone with my grandmother every day than just pass him on my way out the door every day."

"For someone who acts so entitled, you'd think he would be good looking." Kurt shrugged one shoulder and then wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck, kissing him again. "You know, Blaine Anderson, you're sexy when you're mad… Especially when you're not mad at me."

"Oh, yeah?" A grin slowly spread across Blaine's face. "Well you just so happen to be sexy all of the time. I don't think I can keep up."

"Oh, you're managing." Kurt giggled a bit and kissed his cheek.

"I have to leave in a few minutes to meet Adrian so we can work on our trial stuff… But I'm pretty sure that Wes is staying in, so maybe you two can hang out?" Blaine kissed Kurt's nose.

"Sure. And if he's busy, it's fine. I assumed you'd be busy a lot of the time. I brought some homework for when you are… and the newest issue of Vogue."

"God, I don't think I've even looked at a Vogue issue since I started at Harvard in August." Blaine whined.

"Which is why I brought all the issues you've missed. I also have a care package from Carole—and Melody. Melody said I had to stress _and Melody_." Kurt said very seriously.

Blaine laughed. "You know, I get excited every time you guys send me one? But especially excited when it's from _you_. That stuffed dog you got me was really cute."

"Well I know you've had a pretty stressful few weeks. I thought you could use a smile." Kurt beamed at him. "But go and get ready to meet your partner. I'm fine."

"Okay, okay, okay. Here, come with me. We'll put your bag in my room and I'll find Wesley. If he mentions anything about me and alcohol, I _really_ think he's making it up but I was so drunk that I don't even remember _getting_ drunk, so there's that." Blaine grabbed Kurt's bag and led him down the hall.

"What did you do or not do?" Kurt asked, resisting the urge to roll his eyes when he saw just how spotless Blaine's room was.

"Something about a shirt and an ice cream or something. I don't know." Blaine placed Kurt's bag on his bed and then ran to his drawers, taking all of the stuff out of one and quickly shoving the stuff in another drawer. "Here, for your stuff. And there are plenty of hangers and—."

" _Go_. It's fine." Kurt promised, kissing him.

"I love you." Blaine said, giving him a goofy smile. He then lowered his voice and said, very quietly, "Thank you for coming to see me."

"I couldn't go any longer without seeing you. I just couldn't. I missed you too much." Kurt kissed him once again. Man, he really had missed the kissing more than he'd thought.

"I'm taking you out to dinner tonight. A nice one. For Valentine's Day." Blaine promised, pulling away. "Since we missed it again. So look up online and pick anywhere and we'll go, okay?"

"Okay." Kurt smiled brightly. "Bye, I love you."

"I love you too. So much. So, so much." Blaine kissed him quickly and ran from the room.

Kurt sat on Blaine's bed and swallowed a lump in his throat, looking at the framed pictures of him and Blaine on Blaine's nightstand and dresser. He missed Blaine _so_ much.

"Yo, Kurtsie." Wes wandered in.

"Hey." Kurt sniffed a bit and smiled brightly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Allergies." Kurt lied, smile growing. "How are you? Do you like Harvard? I know Blaine loves it here."

" _Like_ is a strong word for school that is this much work." Wes laughed a bit and plopped on Blaine's bed as if he did it all of the time—and for all Kurt knew, he probably did.

Kurt laughed a bit and sat down on the bed as well.

"Are you two okay? Since the fight?"

Kurt nodded, looking at the photo album which was on Blaine's night stand. "Yes, I think. We've been talking almost daily since then. We're trying to communicate better and talk through things…"

"Then why do you look like you might cry?"

"Maybe because I've been doing that a lot lately. I don't know." Kurt sighed a bit. "He didn't look happy to see me."

"He practically growls at me when I come into his room if it makes you feel any better. He's super stressed out." Wes said gently. "He's always like this before a mock trial. A lot of work goes into them, I guess, and it being moved up… Sometimes he turns into a jerk when he's stressed out."

"Is he doing okay? _Really_ doing okay?" Kurt asked, looking at Wes.

"I think he would be better if we weren't living with a homophobic asshole, but there isn't a whole lot he can do about it… But he's doing okay, I think." Wes frowned. "But he heard about his grandmother. About her leukemia."

"My dad told me. I didn't want to say anything because… you know." Kurt said, trailing off and shrugging. "I didn't know how he'd react. I don't like to make him think about that stuff."

"No. I don't either." Wes agreed. "But his brother called and told him. At least he found out from Alex."

"How did he take it?"

"Weirdly… You know, she's the only reason he went to Dalton and got to go to UK. Even if she's horrible, I feel like Blaine still…" Wes trailed off, trying to find the right words. "I think he doesn't like her, but I don't think he dislikes her as much as he dislikes his parents."

"That makes sense but she still doesn't sound like a nice woman."

"She's the _worst_. Talk about privileged snooty women." Wes groaned. "I just hope he doesn't go visit her."

"Does he want to?"

Wes sighed. "He doesn't _want_ to but I'm pretty sure he's feeling obligated."

Kurt frowned.

"I wouldn't worry about it. If he doesn't have time to come see you in Lima, he definitely won't make time to see her in Westerville." Wes reassured Kurt. "Still, I kind of feel bad for the woman. Even if she's a big, snooty bitch."

"I don't have any sympathy for her. She's horrible to him. They all are." Kurt said very seriously.

Wes hopped up. "Do you want a snack? Blaine probably won't be back for a few hours."

"Sure, but don't _you_ have homework?" Kurt asked, standing as well.

"I'll make time later. I want to catch up with my friend." Wes grinned and walked out of the bedroom. "Come on before the big, bad asshole comes out and tries to make gay soup out of you."

"I'm trying to decide if that was offensive or not." Kurt commented, following him into the kitchen.

Wes grinned again and draped an arm over Kurt's shoulder. "If you haven't figured out I'm offensive by now, Kurtsie, we haven't spent enough time together. Luckily I have no major assignments due next week, so there'll be plenty of time for that to happen."

…

Later that night Kurt was half asleep, curled on Blaine's bed in Blaine's sweatshirt, when the bedroom door opened and a sleepy looking Blaine came in.

"You're up!" Blaine said, tired face lighting up.

"Mostly." Kurt smiled and hopped up, going to hug him. "Your house is cold."

"I see you found a sweatshirt though." Blaine kissed his cheek. "Wes would have turned the heat up, you know?"

"I was fine with the alternative." Kurt smiled again. "I brought your old sweatshirt back. Maybe we can swap?"

Blaine laughed and nodded. "Okay. I can probably do that. Do you want to get ready to go? Did you pick a place?"

"I was thinking _you_ could pick where we have dinner and I can pick where we have dessert." Kurt said, somewhat slyly.

"I knew you'd see there was a Cheesecake Factory near here." Blaine giggled. "It's seven, so we should have enough time. Do you need to get ready?"

"Not tonight. I just want to spend time with you." Kurt said, lacing their hands together.

"You mean you're even going to wear my sweatshirt in the restaurant?" Blaine asked, looking surprised.

"Of course not. I'm going to take it off in the parking lot and leave it in the car." Kurt laughed. "Did you really think I'd wear a sweatshirt in public?"

"What about the one with the shoulder, you know?" Blaine leaned down, kissing Kurt's shoulder.

"Yes well that one is fashionable. This one is hideous." Kurt remarked.

"Oh, I've missed you." Blaine slid his arms around Kurt's waist and pulled him close, pressing against him.

"I've missed you too." Kurt looked at him. "So much."

Blaine smiled, hazel eyes bright. "Let's go. I don't want to get back home too late."

"Oh?"

"Extracurricular activities." Blaine said, nodding once with a serious expression on his face.

"I like the way you think, Anderson." Kurt nudged him. "Let us go."

…

"Thank you." Blaine smiled brightly as Kurt held the door open for him.

"You're welcome." Kurt beamed and then linked hands with Blaine as a hostess led them to a table. "I'm so excited."

"I bet you are. We're getting Cheesecake Factory after this." Blaine laughed.

"We are absolutely horrible at Valentine's Day. I think we've only had two real ones."

"We had three." Blaine protested.

"No. One we were together, but you had the stomach flu and we were stuck in the bathroom all night." Kurt corrected.

"Oh…. That's right." Blaine frowned. "Well… does the year we weren't dating count? We did sing Silly Love Songs and look at each other a lot?"

"It doesn't count because you sang a sex song to a hipster."

"I have no recollection of that. I have no idea what you're talking about. Clearly you're making things up in your head." Blaine maintained a very serious expression.

Kurt giggled. "Alright. I'll let you think it was all a horrible, embarrassing dream."

"Thank you for that." Blaine smiled a bit. "You know… I know at first it didn't seem like it, but I'm really glad you came like this. It means a lot to me. Sorry I reacted poorly at first."

"I'm sorry I didn't okay it with you… I really didn't think it would be a problem." Kurt admitted¸ making eye contact. "I'm sorry if you felt like I wasn't taking you seriously when you said you had a lot of work…"

"It's okay. I think I'm mostly tired more than anything… that and stressed out. I mean, Adrian is _amazing_ and everything. He's really cool; he's on my level in the class. We're both kind of above most of the other students. Hanging out with him is great, but mock trials are a lot of work and we're not going to have as much time to prepare as the defense team." Blaine rubbed his eyes and yawned a bit.

"At least you have a partner you like." Kurt said.

"He's awesome. I hope he stays my partner for the rest of the semester. He usually is on the defense team but they moved some students around. He is so much better than my last partner. It's like night and day. The last girl made me do all of the work and she _sucked_ in presenting our argument. Ugh, I don't want to think about it." Blaine shook his head, as if getting rid of the thoughts about his old partner.

"Is he cute?" Kurt asked before he even knew he had _thought_ of the question.

"I mean, he's attractive. But this is purely for school. Besides, I'm dating _you_. I don't need to look at anyone else because look at you. You're _gorgeous_. I've always thought you were, but puberty has _definitely_ done you well." Blaine gestured at Kurt.

Kurt rolled his eyes, not believing him. "I think you're biased."

Blaine thanked the waitress when she sat down their food and then returned his attention to Kurt, nudging Kurt's foot with his own.

"How is the internship going?" Blaine asked after taking a bite of his dinner, trying to not sound overly interested although he _really_ wanted Kurt to say it was horrible, he was finding a new one, that Derek was an asshat.

"It's… It's like normal, I guess. I don't really talk to Derek anymore, though, if that's what you're really asking." Kurt eyed him, not looking annoyed. He was mostly surprised that Derek had shown up in the conversation.

Blaine bit his lip. Okay. Maybe he was more transparent than he thought. Then again, this was Kurt he was talking about.

"We're not friends. I've seen him outside of the internship once since we made up a few weeks ago and it was too awkward, so Alec and I left after like five minutes." Kurt admitted. "I don't think we'll ever be friends. He keeps making offhand statements about you and I when we're working together and it's… it's really getting under my skin. He says it like he's joking, but he's not. I can… I can tell that he really said those things to you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Blaine looked down. "I just really wonder how he _knew_."

"I don't know, Blaine." Kurt shook his head, biting his lip. "I really don't know. I just know he didn't hear it from me."

"Did you ever say anything to Alec? You're closer to him."

"No. I've never talked about it to anyone but you." Kurt looked him in the eyes, pleading Blaine to believe him.

"Okay." Blaine nodded and smiled a bit. "Who knows? It doesn't really matter, though, as long as he doesn't do anything that comes between us."

Kurt leaned over the table, kissing him quickly. "Let's not talk about anything negative for the rest of the night. I just want to spend some good time together before I have to leave. We won't see each other until April on your spring break."

"At least it's a light work week for you that week… And you'll be staying with me two weeks later on yours." Blaine's smile grew. "Seeing you so soon after one visit may spoil us."

"We could use a little spoiling in that department, don't you think?"

Blaine reached over and grabbed Kurt's hand, holding it over the table. "I do. It's too bad you can't stay for a few weeks… or years."

Kurt smiled a bit. "I mentioned hypothetically coming here until you were done and then going to Parsons… Dad almost had a heart attack. He then had Paige and Taylor come down and 'talk sense into me.'"

"Oh?"

"Paige told me I should do it." Kurt laughed. "I thought Taylor's head was going to explode… Then again, I think Taylor's secret motivation is that she wants to be able to see me all the time."

"I think your dad called in the wrong people." Blaine laughed also. "He should have gotten your grandparents."

"No. Grandpa isn't such a big fan of me doing something impractical, remember? And Grammy loves you. She'd probably ask to come up with me." Kurt rolled his eyes, smile not leaving his face.

"You can't do that, you know." Blaine said gently.

"I know." Kurt nodded once. "I know. As much as I might really _want_ to, this… will be good for us. We need to know we can live independent of each other. And we can do it. We've lasted this long."

 _Barely,_ Kurt mentally added.

Blaine looked down at his plate, which was still half full, and then pushed it away.

"Are you not hungry?" Kurt asked worriedly.

"I thought I was but I kind of have a head ache." Blaine admitted, frowning.

He didn't _look_ sick, though. He looked nervous. Being apart was killing Kurt; was it killing Blaine too? It was almost like being around Blaine made it _worse_. It didn't used to be like that…

"Let's get you home if you have a headache." Kurt said quietly, standing. "I'll get to go boxes for our food."

"No. It's fine." Blaine said, alarmed. "Let's finish. I'm okay. It's not bad enough that we need to leave." He then smiled brightly. "I promise."

Kurt slowly sat back down, unsure.

Blaine reached over the table again, grabbing his hand. It was so weird, to just be able to hold hands and not glance around to make sure people weren't looking. Blaine was _comfortable_ here in Massachusetts. It had really become Blaine's home.

"How's Kreacher?" Blaine asked. "I'll never admit it to anyone else, but I kind of miss the dumb dog."

Kurt rolled his eyes, smiling again. "Fine. He misses you too. Carole's trying to talk Dad into getting a new puppy 'for Melody' but I think it's really so Kreacher will have someone to play with. Oreo just lays there and stares at him."

Blaine laughed a bit. "Does your dad know how hard it was to train Kreacher?"

"It took a long time to train him too."

"He mainly only listens to you, too." Blaine added.

"At least it'll give me a distraction." Kurt said, feeling a bit more cheerful the more that they talked. "And puppies are really, really cute."

"Well when you all get it, I want to come to Ohio and see it." Blaine grinned. "I wish we could have pets here, but Asshole is allergic."

"Hey, you have your $800 fish." Kurt pointed out. "Don't go feeling too bad for yourself."

"I'm pretty sure the clown fish and the puffer fish are having an affair. Did I tell you that?" Blaine asked, still grinning.

"What is it with you and making up backstories for fish—in cups and live ones?" Kurt laughed, squeezing his hand.

"I guess I'm just cute like that or something." Blaine tilted his head adorably.

"Something like that." Kurt leaned over and kissed him. "I love you, Blaine."

"I love you too, Kurt." Blaine beamed as he pulled away. "You ready for cheesecake?"

* * *

"Holy cow. Blaine is actually up early on a day he doesn't have to be?" Wes gasped early the next morning when he went into the kitchen to see Kurt and Blaine at the kitchen table, still in pajamas and looking absolutely adorable as they ate their scrambled eggs and toast.

"There's some left in the big bowl if you want any." Kurt said cheerfully, waving.

"Man, I knew there was a reason Blaine picked you." Wes grinned.

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"I made them actually." Blaine said. "Eggs aren't his forte."

"I know how to make them." Kurt said. "Blaine just makes them better."

Blaine grinned and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "We were going to get breakfast out but we figured we could do that tomorrow since he'll have to leave before I go into classes."

"Aww, you mean he's not moving in? Darn!" Wes teased. "I don't think the place has looked this neat or organized since the last time Blaine cleaned... which he never has time to do anymore."

"I do what I can." Blaine pouted, sticking out his lower lip. "And I keep my room perfect. You could help out."

"It's not your fault you're busy." Kurt kissed Blaine quickly when they heard Asshole walking down the hall, not knowing how long they would have until they could freely do so again. Everybody remained silent until the guy, who was talking obnoxiously on his cell phone, left the house.

"I don't know how someone with such little brains made it into Harvard." Wes muttered before going and making himself a plate.

"Do you want to sit with us?" Blaine asked.

"No. You two should have some alone time. Kurt leaves tomorrow." Wes said, messing up Blaine's hair as he walked by.

Blaine rolled his eyes but smiled brightly at Kurt. "What do you want to do?"

"Anything as long as I can be with you." Kurt responded. "Do you have any ideas?"

"How about we just lie in bed and watch When Harry Met Sally?" Blaine suggested.

"Is it on Pay Per View?" Kurt asked.

"No. I... bought this as a surprise for the next time I saw you... I bought the DVD for us. I figured we could add it to _our_ collection of movies."

Kurt smiled, watching Blaine with bright blue eyes. "I love you so much, Blaine Anderson. I hope you know that."

Blaine's smile grew even more as he leaned in and kissed Blaine on the lips. "I love you too, Kurt."

…

Maybe Kurt should have walked on by the shop when he realized it was the one that Blaine and his partner were studying in. After all, it had been three hours. Surely Blaine was almost done, right? In all honesty, Kurt just wanted to _see_ this Adrian guy. The one whom Blaine _outright admitted_ was cute.

He trusted Blaine.

It wasn't like he thought he was going to walk into the shop and find them going at it in a corner booth or anything.

He just wanted to get some coffee, glance so he could see what the guy looked like, and leave without even mentioning it to Blaine.

However, Kurt forgot that he was many things—and one of the biggest things about him? He stood out. As soon as he got his coffee and was set to head out the door (rather annoyed he only saw the back of Adrian's head), he heard Blaine's voice.

"Kurt?"

_Damn. Why do I have to stand out so much?_

Adrian, who was sitting across from Blaine and looking over a notebook, looked up. He had dark brown, perfectly styled hair and brilliant blue eyes. The color of his eyes stood out even more against his nicely tanned skin. And he had freaking muscles. _Muscles._ The guy for real could have been a swimsuit model for a living.

 _Double damn. He's freaking gorgeous. I'm babysitting my sister when I'm in Ohio and he's spending time with_ that? _No wonder he talks about him more than me._

"Oh, is _this_ where you were going?" Kurt asked innocently.

"Yeah… it was." Blaine said, voice sounding it's perky, usual self. But Kurt knew Blaine. He was in trouble.

"Hi! I'm Adrian!" Blaine's partner stood and held out his hand, offering a bright smile.

_And polite? Fuck my life._

"I'm Kurt." Kurt forced a smile and shook the guy's hand.

"Sorry I've been keeping him so long. It's my fault and not his. He's much better at this than I am. I usually do defendant and not plaintiff but my professor thought I was finding it too easy and now he's stuck with me." Adrian gave a one shouldered shrug. "You should sit with us!"

Kurt glanced at Blaine, who shrugged and moved his bag off of the seat next to him.

"Are you sure?"

"Well you're here, aren't you?" Blaine let out a laugh that didn't meet his eyes and then turned the notebook Adrian was looking at to another page.

"It's all starting to blur together now." Adrian sighed. "I'm still for going to see the Avengers sequel… threequel. Whatever you call a third installment."

"Yes but _you_ work better under pressure. I however break out in acne and have near anxiety attacks." Blaine said, fighting a yawn.

"It's Saturday. That leaves… tomorrow." Adrian groaned. "I should have been a carpenter."

Blaine snorted and took a big drink of his coffee. "Do you want me to order you one, Kurt?"

"No, I'm fine." Kurt held up the coffee had had just bought before glancing at the notebook curiously.

"These are the notes we've taken off of two cases similar to the ones we have to do." Adrian explained, taking a drink of his coffee. "We have a case about cocaine possession. Our client is _Jose."_

"Jose sounds like the name of a drug dealer." Kurt commented.

"Okay, so, we just have to prove he's guilty beyond reasonable doubt. I agree with Kurt. Part of our evidence should _definitely_ be the fact that his name is Jose." Adrian said. "It's believable and if _you_ are the one to say it, Doc will eat it up."

"I doubt that." Blaine laughed a bit.

Kurt snorted. So professors loved Blaine everywhere. He wasn't surprised.

"Okay, okay, I'm tired. Let's go over it again." Adrian yawned. "We need to focus on getting the court-ordered evaluation to be counted in as evidence against him and go for 18 months instead of the usual sentence of zero to six since he's a repeat offender. It is less than 40 grams so it's only a misdemeanor, but that still affects schools grants and stuff which really sucks for Jose but whatever… Why would Jose even be in school? He's a drug dealer. He's probably making more than he'd make at a job he could get with a degree."

"I don't know. But we have the one minor witness and then the expert witness which really is going to seal our win. As long as we don't read from notes, make sure we get the guy's horrible personality out there, and connect with the jury. That's what always gets people. It not being believable enough." Blaine began flipping through a large stack of papers.

"Yeah but your body language is awesome when you do the trials, so I don't think we need to worry about it not being believable." Adrian said. "If Gary messes up playing the expert witness, I'm putting blue hair dye in his shampoo."

Blaine laughed loudly as Adrian snapped the notebook shut.

"Alright. We'll meet tomorrow night at 7, go over everything piece by piece, play it out, and then we're done. Monday morning we'll do it and we won't have to worry about this until the week after spring break."

"Thank God." Blaine stood and stretched. "See you tomorrow at 7. Have a good night, Adrian."

"You too, Blaine. Don't study the notes too hard. We've got this." Adrian smiled. "It was good to meet you, Kurt. Sorry I kept him from you so long."

"It's fine." Kurt said softly.

Blaine watched Adrian leaved the coffee shop and then turned to Kurt. " _Really_?"

"Blaine, I just saw the place and…"

"Do you have any idea how this makes me look? Do you not even trust me to work on a project with a partner?" Blaine stretched his arms out in front of him and then sighed. "I can't believe you were _spying_ on me."

"Maybe I was trying to reenact how we met?" Kurt asked.

Blaine let out a sarcastic laugh and tossed his notebook into his messenger bag. "Come on."

 _He's really mad. Great,_ Kurt thought as he followed Blaine out of the small shop.

"You just kept talking about him a lot and I wanted to see him." Kurt admitted. "I wasn't going to come in, but I saw you through the window and it occurred to me that I would know what he looks like and…"

"Why can't you just be a Facebook stalker like the rest of us?" Blaine muttered, opening the passenger car door for Kurt.

"Well I wasn't expecting you to _see_ me."

"How could I not notice you? Especially when you're in those jeans." Blaine huffed and got into the driver's seat after carefully shutting Kurt's door.

Kurt resisted the urge to smirk. It really wasn't the time. Not with Blaine annoyed at him again.

"I don't get it. I can't believe you were checking up on me."

"I wasn't _checking up on you."_

Blaine narrowed his eyes before backing out of his parking spot. "I'm not a child, Kurt. School is like my _job_. Would you drop in on me like that when I was at work?"

"It _wasn't_ work. It's a _project_." Kurt said. "I didn't think it would be a big deal."

"It's embarrassing! I think it is very obvious what you were doing. I can't believe I am this old and my _boyfriend_ is checking up on me! Have I ever done _anything_ to make you worry that I'm messing around on you?" Blaine pulled out into traffic, heading towards his house.

"No, but you have been talking about this guy nonstop for a week and a half. One day after you cancelled our trip and you were talking about how funny he is, how good he is in classes, how _great you are as partners_. Sorry if I find it a little strange that all of a sudden you're best friends with the guy."

"First of all, I am not best friends with him. This is my first time working with him. He's a nice person, Kurt. And second of all, I seem to remember you telling me that Alec wasn't a threat to us and he _wasn't_."

"Do you remember how you reacted?" Kurt questioned. "Because I can remind you if you'd like."

"I know how I acted, but it was pointless, wasn't it?" Blaine asked. "Because nothing _happened_ between you two. Exactly like nothing will happen between he and I. Adrian is cool. That's all."

"He looks like he stepped out of a modeling agency." Kurt sulked. "He _has_ to be gay. He dressed way too nice to not be."

"I'm pretty sure he is gay." Blaine admitted. "But I've never asked. And for the record, I think you're _much_ more attractive than him."

"Hmph."

Blaine sighed. "I don't want to blow this out of proportion. I… I'm a little annoyed that you did it but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. Okay?"

"It matters to me that you're spending all of your time with this gorgeous gay guy when I'm thirteen hours away." Kurt sighed a bit. "You enjoy spending time with him."

"You can trust me, Kurt."

"I know that I can trust you, Blaine. Things just don't feel _right_ now. It probably doesn't even have anything to do with him at all. I'm sorry I tried to spy on you and your study buddy. I was walking around, I saw the place, and I went in. I didn't want to be seen. I just wanted to know what he looks like. If it makes it any better, I don't think he knew what I was doing." Kurt bit his lip.

"What do you mean, things don't feel _right_?" Blaine questioned.

"Things between us feel different. I don't know." Kurt frowned. "I've just... felt like things have been changing for a while now. It's partly why I wanted to come here to see you so bad. To feel like it isn't changing; that it's all in my head."

Blaine pulled into his driveway and then turned to look at Kurt.

Kurt took a deep breath and unbuckled his seatbelt. "I guess it's just a part of growing up, right?"

"Kurt..." Blaine ran his hand through his hair and looked at Kurt sadly.

"I'm trying so hard. I really am." Kurt opened his door. "But I'm struggling here and it feels like nobody notices... or nobody cares."

"You think I don't care?"

"I don't know what I think right now. When you saw me Friday, you looked _annoyed_. I never thought that..." Kurt got out of the car. "Never mind."

"What? Never thought what?" Blaine asked, getting out as well and locking the doors.

"I never thought I would feel this way when it came to _us_. Before we seemed so much better and now I'm not sure what I think any more. I don't want to talk about it right now, okay?"

Blaine frowned but nodded. "Okay."

Kurt followed Blaine into his house and down the hall to his bedroom. He could hear Wes chattering loudly on the phone across the hall and what he really hoped wasn't porn coming from another room. Was Blaine's asshole roommate really so deprived that he had to watch loud porn this early?

"What do you want to do?" Blaine asked, his voice too cheerful. Clearly Kurt's words had affected him. Kurt wasn't too sure how much, but there was a definite change.

"You still have some preparation, don't you? I'll just work on my homework and you work on yours. At least we'll be together."

Blaine nodded, closing the bedroom door and tossing his messenger bag onto the bed where Kurt was now sitting. "Kurt?"

"I really don't want to talk about it right now. Tomorrow, okay? If I do now I'll just get upset."

"Okay." Blaine leaned over, kissing Kurt's cheek. "I love you just as much as I did yesterday or last week or last year."

Kurt made eye contact, lacing Blaine's fingers through his own. "I love you too, Blaine... Let's get some school work done, though, okay?"

"Alright." Blaine sat on the bed, making sure that he was as close to Kurt as he could possibly get.

Kurt let his foot rest against Blaine's and began outlining an outfit in his sketchbook.

"Are you mad at me?" Blaine asked after a few moments of silence.

"No, Blaine." Kurt said gently, not looking up—making sure he _didn't_ look up because if he saw Blaine, he might want to cry. He always wanted to cry when Blaine wasn't around and now he even wanted to cry when he was. "Are you mad at me?"

"No." Blaine's voice was soft. "I don't want to fight anymore. I'm so sick of tension and arguing and feeling like this."

"Me too." Kurt leaned over, resting his head on Blaine's shoulder as he continued to sketch.

Blaine leaned in a bit, pressing a kiss to the top of Kurt's head. "I love you."

"I love you too." Kurt swallowed back a lump in his throat. God, what was he? Five?

Blaine moved, grabbing his notebook out of his bag and opening it over his lap. If they had to do homework, they could at least do it together while they still had the chance.

* * *

"You slept late." Blaine said the next morning when Kurt came into the kitchen.

"Sorry. I had trouble getting to sleep." Kurt glanced around the room, making sure Blaine's roommate wasn't there, and then sat on Blaine's lap.

"You don't have to apologize." Blaine brushed his messy hair out of his face and smiled. "I miss when you're sleepy the most."

"Because I'm not as snarky?" Kurt yawned and nuzzled his shoulder.

"That might have something to do with it." Blaine teased.

Kurt rolled his eyes and then nuzzled his shoulder again, smiling when Blaine stroked the back of his neck.

"I can't wait for you to get to go to New York in the fall. We'll be so much closer… And it will be amazing to spend all summer with you in Ohio."

Kurt's head rose up at that and he pulled back to blink at Blaine.

Right.

He hadn't told Blaine yet.

Then again, he hadn't really had the opportunity.

"About that…" Kurt began. "I'm actually moving to New York two weeks after I graduate CCAD. I'm not going to stay in school housing. I'm going to be Quinn's roommate."

"Oh." Blaine said, looking surprised.

"I just… You've started this new life and I want to start mine too. I figure that this way, I'll kind of have the swing of things before school starts. It may make the adjustment period a little easier. And I could probably use that extra adjustment time." Kurt shrugged, making eye contact.

"If you want to do that, you should." Blaine smiled and brushed a few locks of hair out of his face.

Kurt cast his eyes down quickly, frowning at his lap. He hadn't wanted Blaine to react that way. He had wanted Blaine to offer to stay with him some, he wanted Blaine to say. 'Oh man I was really looking forward to spending 3 months with you. That sucks.' It was like Blaine didn't care. Or something. Kurt didn't know.

"You've seemed kind of… strange." Blaine looked at him. "Are you okay?"

"No." Kurt shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked, frowning.

"I'm just sad." Kurt looked down.

"Do you… Can we… talk about it?"

"I want things to go back to the way they were." Kurt swallowed hard. "But I feel like it's so bad that they can't go back."

"What on Earth do you mean?"

"We didn't talk for a month, Blaine."

"We emailed." Blaine tilted Kurt's chin up, making Kurt look at him.

"We sent eleven emails over the course of the month, Blaine. I don't think it counts." Kurt hopped off of Blaine's lap and took a deep breath.

"I already apologized."

"This isn't about an apology. I know that it was my decision that led to the fight in the first place." Kurt raised his hands up, gesturing. "But I feel like I was abandoned."

"Kurt…"

"You shut me out, Blaine. You shut me out." Kurt shook his head, moving back as Blaine stood up.

"I'm sorry."

"I don't want an 'I'm sorry.' I'm angry by the fact that it got taken so far. I'm sorry I disregarded your feelings… but I feel like the way you punished me… It felt like a break up." Kurt said.

"A break up?" Blaine echoed.

"What do you think happens during a break up?" Kurt asked.

"You don't have to get snippy."

"I'm sorry but since January, I haven't felt like…"

"Like what, Kurt?"

"I haven't felt like we're in a real relationship." Kurt sighed. "We've been talking since we made up every day, but it's so… so forced and structured. Like it's something we _have_ to do, like we're writing each other in. I don't want that."

"We don't live in the same state and we're both busy. How else are we supposed to do this?"

"If we didn't speak for an entire month, are we even doing it?" Kurt questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"If we can go a month without speaking, are we in a real relationship?" Kurt asked slowly.

"Of course we are."

"Then why couldn't you trust me? What is with that?" Kurt asked.

"Are you forgetting part of that whole argument? What about you not believing Derek said those things? What about you acting like I was your little deviant child? If you want to bring this up, fine. We will. I told you I wanted space and _you_ chose to incessantly try to force me to talk to you instead of giving me _time_. And why don't I trust you? _I have trust issues_. Why don't you trust _me_ , Kurt? What have I done to make you worry about anything? I try. I try so hard to trust you and be completely open but I don't think you understand how hard it is for me and that _kills_ me because you're the _one person_ that is supposed to get me. I try and I've come a long way. You can't pretend I haven't come a long way!"

"I just… I try, okay? I try but it's so hard for me." Blaine said, becoming nervous. "I try and I've come a long way. You can't pretend I haven't come a long way."

"You're right. You have. But, Blaine, I am so tired of arguing. I miss you. I miss you all of the time. And I thought this weekend we'd spend some time together and it would be good but I haven't felt _right_ since I've been here. It's so exhausting to argue and to have this tension around you because it's not what I'm used to. I spent so much time looking forward to this trip and… and we fought and it's like we only see each other to fight and… I kind of wish I hadn't come." Kurt shook his head, refusing to make eye contact.

"Can't we just… talk… about this? Kurt, I… You regret coming? What did I do? I told you I was sorry for being so shocked and being kind of rude but don't let that have ruined our time together." Blaine pleaded. "You're being dramatic."

"We can't talk about this. I try talking about stuff all of the time and you just shut me out. I feel like I have been shut out or pushed aside so many times since you moved out here and I keep trying and trying and trying! It hurts, Blaine. It hurts." Kurt turned away from him. "I didn't want to argue. I just wanted to spend time with you and remember what it used to be like but you don't even want me here."

"Don't be ridiculous." Blaine moved, standing in front of him and tilting Kurt's chin up until their eyes met. "Kurt… please…"

"Our relationship is failing." Kurt frowned.

" _No_. Don't say that."

"We didn't talk for a month. This is my first time seeing you since January and it's been awkward or tense half the time and now we're fighting." Kurt whispered, looking miserable. Maybe it wasn't _half_ the time, but it was definitely still there. It was at least there for him. "Everyone around us is moving forward, getting married, having kids, buying houses… and we have never been so far apart."

"We're fine, Kurt. Who cares if Rachel and Finn are getting married and buying a house? Who cares is Tina and Mika are having a kid? We don't have to do what other people are doing to be together." Blaine scoffed.

"I don't want to lose us but I can feel it happening. We're not the same and every day I feel like we're farther apart than we were the day before. And I just… I don't know what to _do_. What am I supposed to do to s-stop this? I just want to go back to the way we were, Blaine." Kurt felt tears fill his eyes.

Blaine looked away. This wasn't happening.

"You can't say we're okay when you don't even want to _talk about_ marriage. You can't even commit to take the next step in our relationship—just seriously _talking_ about it. Not only that, but we're growing apart. This is killing me!"

"Don't start the marriage talk." Blaine sighed. "Please don't start that talk."

"Don't start the marriage talk? We've been together since high school!" Kurt exclaimed. "Do you think I want to just have a promise ring for the rest of my life?"

Blaine looked down. He had known this would come eventually. In fact, he was kind of surprised it hadn't come up sooner.

"If you can't commit to me… what does that say?" Kurt asked. "What does that say about how you feel about me?"

"It's not that, Kurt." Blaine began.

"It is. At the end of the day, I would marry you tonight and you won't even give me an engagement ring… I don't know what to do anymore." Kurt grabbed his jacket off of the bed. "I need to take a walk."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Blaine asked.

"I would really like to be alone, but thank you." Kurt grabbed his jacket and left the apartment.

* * *

Blaine loosened his tie as soon as he got into the car the next afternoon, tossing his messenger bag into the floor of the back seat. Kurt was sitting in the passenger seat, looking down at his phone.

"That's over." Blaine said cheerfully, closing his car door.

"How did it go?" Kurt set his phone down and looked up at Blaine.

"We won. I'm telling you, the suspect's name being Jose sealed the deal." Blaine joked.

Kurt laughed a bit.

"That's great. I know you worked really hard on it and you were even crunched for time… I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Kurt." Blaine looked at him, smiling. "That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome." Kurt smiled as well and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"And I was right. We'll be on time for the airport." Blaine's smile grew. "I was a little nervous it would go over. Once I had to be a juror in one that went over two and a half hours."

"Are you serious?" Kurt raised his eyebrow. "It's just like a project though, right?"

"It's like a legitimate trial. There's opening statements, closing statements, everything. Time for the jurors to deliberate. Supposedly one went over six hours once… I think it was a mock trial for final year students or something. That sounds crazy to me." Blaine shook his head, pulling out of the parking lot. "Which airport are we going to again, my love?"

Kurt felt his breath catch in his chest at the 'my love' and had to fumble to remember what Blaine had asked. "Uhm… Logan Airport?"

"Good. The one _in_ Boston. I know exactly how to get to that one." Blaine made a turn at a four way stop sign. "Did you bring a book or something to read on the flight?"

"No, but I have my tablet. I'm just going to work on school stuff until it dies." Kurt said, watching him.

"Good. You'll be able to get some sleep when you get home." Blaine smiled.

"Yeah."

They fell into silence as Blaine drove, neither of them really knowing what to say.

Kurt didn't want to leave Blaine. He felt sick to his stomach at the thought. He wouldn't see Blane until spring break and things were still tense from the night before. Part of him wanted to beg Blaine to come back to Ohio with him, tell him that he couldn't live this way anymore, that he'd tried and it was too much.

But he could never do that. Never pull Blaine away from the place that was clearly making him _happy_. When had he seen Blaine so happy about something work related? Who was ever so happy about something work and school related? Blaine was here doing something he _loved_. Kurt would never try to come between that.

"We're here." Blaine said several long minutes later, getting out and grabbing Kurt's bag. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Kurt mentally shook his thoughts away and got out of the car, reaching for his bag.

"I've got it." Blaine smiled, kissing his cheek.

"Thank you." Kurt said softly, smiling back weakly.

"Cheer up. Spring break isn't that far away." Blaine nudged him as they walked into the airport. It wasn't packed full of people like it had been on Friday when Kurt had arrived. It was kind of nice.

"I'll try." Kurt forced a smile.

"We need to figure out how we're going to make the most of both of our spring breaks, okay? I'll start a list." Blaine set Kurt's bag down when they'd reached as far as Blaine could go.

Kurt threw his arms around Blaine, burying his face in his neck and trying his hardest not to cry. Trying and failing.

"It's okay. It's okay." Blaine whispered, kissing his face repeatedly. "Shush, it's okay. It won't be that long."

"It's just hard." Kurt cried. "I'm sorry I said I r-regretted coming."

"It's okay. Don't worry." Blaine kissed him on the lips slowly before pulling away. "Shh, it's alright. It's okay. We'll be okay."

Kurt nodded, burying his face in Blaine's shoulder. He tried to stop the tears and the embarrassing sobs that were coming out, but it was hard. Very, very hard.

"Don't make me cry, Kurt." Blaine pleaded, giving him a big squeeze. "Please."

"Don't cry. Don't. If you start to cry, I'll just turn into a blubbering mess." Kurt let out a watery hiccough.

"Okay." Blaine squeezed him even tighter.

"I have to go." Kurt wiped his eyes. "I have to go back to Lima without you."

Blaine took a deep breath and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Spring break."

"Waiting for big dates to see you sucks." Kurt let out a half laugh, half sob.

"I know." Blaine swallowed hard.

Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck, kissing him slowly and trying to pour every ounce of feeling he had into the kiss. Blaine moaned, kissing back just as passionately.

"I gotta… gotta go." Kurt pulled back very slowly, eyes on Blaine.

"We'll be okay, Kurt." Blaine whispered in his ear before kissing his cheek. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." Kurt hugged and kissed him again quickly. "Drive safe, alright?"

"I promise. You be safe too." Blaine touched his cheek, not breaking eye contact. "And call me as soon as you land."

"I promise." Kurt wiped his teary eyes and then nodded. "B-Bye, Blaine."

"Bye, Kurt." Blaine said, waving when Kurt walked off. He stayed until he could see Kurt no longer and then pulled out his phone, his hands shaking.

"'Sup, Blainers?" Wes asked.

"We need to talk."

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note: The beginning of this chapter begins directly following the end of Chapter 8, which is different since it usually skips between 2-3 weeks. From there, it should be self-explanatory when they begin. This was originally only going to be a short chapter but Stacy talked me into lengthening it, so here is part one to it. Think of it as a belated Christmas present since I didn't get it finished in time! This chapter is going to be mostly filler to help move along the next chapter or so.

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit_.

Blaine took a deep breath as he got into the car five minutes after saying goodbye to Kurt at the airport. That was unlike any goodbye they had ever had. That one… Well, none of them felt _good_ but that one… it felt like they were leaving disconnected, detached… He had never felt detached from _Kurt._ They'd had a connection since the very first time they had met.

This wasn't good.

This wasn't good at all.

He took another deep breath, staring down at his car keys that were laying in his lap. He hadn't even started his car.

_I would have given failing the mock trial over feeling like this._

_Don't be ridiculous. School is important._

_You can't be one of those people who places relationships over everything._

Blaine leaned his head on the steering wheel. Everything was going to be okay. He and Kurt are meant to be together. Nobody could ever make him feel the way Kurt does. Nobody could make Kurt feel the way he did, right? Kurt had said that. Did Kurt still feel that way?

Had he ruined everything they'd built by coming to Harvard?

Maybe he should have stayed in Ohio, stayed close to Kurt.

After all, who lived with their boyfriend for four years and then moved out for three to go to school? That wasn't how people did things, right? He should have waited the year like stupid asshole Derek had said. He should have waited the year, they could have lived half way between. Parsons and Harvard were four hours apart but he'd driven an hour and a half every day to UK. He would have waited, driven an extra thirty minutes. Why didn't he see that before? Why was he so dumb?

 _Calm down_.

Two more deep breaths in and out, then he put the keys into his ignition and turned on the car. There was no reason for him to sit in his car in an airport parking lot and panicking himself into an anxiety attack. Everything would be okay. He had to find a way to make it okay.

Only how was he supposed to _do_ that when he hadn't even meant to do anything wrong in the first place?

The only thing he could do that would make it go away was to propose to Kurt.

Blaine pulled out of the parking lot. If he was near having a panic attack at the thought of losing Kurt, what was there to lose?

When had he gone from afraid to completely open up to Kurt, to take that leap, to him being terrified of losing Kurt?

He'd never exactly had to be afraid he was losing Kurt and it was definitely putting things into perspective. And fast.

They wanted the house with the red door, a porch swing, two girls.

They had talked about all of these things and made plans for the future. Maybe Blaine was being a bit silly by not at least putting some of these things into action. Kurt wanted a ring and a promise of marriage. That _did_ come before buying a house and having kids… It was only reasonable for Blaine to do it at some point, right? Wasn't losing him for sure worse than being afraid of making a commitment that would bring them closer together?

This was his family's fault. He would not have been too afraid to propose if he hadn't been hurt so many times before. The only people he could fully trust were Wes and David. He _should_ have been able to trust Kurt completely, and he almost did… but he was so _scared_ to take that final leap.

"You are not dumb." Blaine said out loud. "You are scared and that's normal. Yes, your situation is different than others but most people are afraid to propose… It's normal… You love Kurt, you want to spend the rest of your life with him… so you're going to do it."

He took another deep breath.

_I'm going to propose to Kurt. Because he's worth it._

…

"What's the big emergency?" Wes asked, looking alarmed when Blaine came into the house twenty minutes after his life changing decision.

"I think I'm about to lose Kurt." Blaine ran to his room and came back out with his laptop. "I'm not letting that happen."

"Wait, what?" Wes arched his eyebrow. "Lose Kurt?"

"He regrets coming to see me."

"He does not regret coming to see you." Wes rolled his eyes.

"He said so himself. He then went on about how it wasn't right of me to expect him to just have a promise ring for the rest of his life and, Wes, I think he might be right." Blaine sat his laptop on the kitchen table.

"Wait… are you going to propose to Kurt?"

"If it's the only way I can keep him, then yes." Blaine said simply, sitting at the table next to Wes before logging onto his account.

"You can't just run in here and make a decision like that because a trip didn't go hunky-dory." Wes pulled the laptop away from him. "You need to talk about this. Did you get in another wreck and hit your head?"

"I need Kurt in my life. I love him and I am willing to do anything to keep him happy." Blaine took a deep breath. "Even if that means proposing."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, _wait._ Let's… Let's just talk this through, okay? There is a _reason_ that you haven't proposed yet and that reason is as important as the reason you want to jump the gun and do it. Kurt's not going anywhere, Blaine. He loves you."

"Then why do I feel like he just said bye to me?" Blaine asked miserably, swallowing. "Why do I feel like he came up here expecting this big spectacular time together and I ruined the one good thing that I have going for me?"

"First of all," Wes raised his voice to get Blaine's attention. "Kurt is not the 'one good thing' that you have in your life, alright? You have David and I, our families, and the fact that you're at Harvard Law. You have a lot of good things going for you."

"It's different. Kurt… He… I'm in love with him. And maybe I'm not ready yet but if that is what it takes to keep him happy, then I have to do it, Wes. I have to do it because I can't… I can't lose him." Blaine rambled. He couldn't tell if he was calming himself or making him more nervous, but he couldn't lose Kurt.

"You sound like a crazy person right now, storming in here and acting like you have to propose to save your relationship. You and Kurt aren't even on the rocks." Wes said, clearly trying to be the reasonable one. Since when was _Wes_ the reasonable one? And for the record, Blaine thought he was being perfectly reasonable. Maybe.

"He thinks we have been since I came here in August. He thinks that he's been abandoned… that was mainly the fight, but… he feels like we aren't even in a relationship and my God I am so stupid to think I could just come here and not propose to him. I am such an idiot." Blaine resisted the urge to smack himself upside the head.

"Blaine, calm down."

"I hurt him, Wes." Blaine took a deep breath, suddenly fighting the urge to cry. Why was this affecting him so much? Was it nerves? Or was he not making the right decision? "I _hurt_ him and that's the last thing I ever wanted to do. H-He thinks I'm shutting him out. I didn't _mean_ to but I can't l-lose him."

"But you also can't go and propose to make stuff go away. That's doing it for the wrong reasons." Wes said gently, setting the laptop on the counter away from his reach. "Stop freaking out. Wipe your eyes, get a drink of water, and we'll talk it through. You have to have a clear head, though, or it will be pointless."

Blaine nodded, wiping his eyes and grabbing a water bottle.

"You can't propose to Kurt because you're afraid to lose him. You have to be ready… You have to want to settle down, to spend the rest of your life with him, you can see yourself raising kids together, you make long term plans together… Do you and Kurt even have plans once you both graduate from school? You'll graduate from here when he graduates Parsons. Did you two even talk about it?" Wes asked.

"When have I had time to even think about that?" Blaine asked.

"Well if you're suddenly this committed to proposing, shouldn't you at least talk about it? Before you go out and start searching for rings?"

"We want a house with a red door and a porch swing and a dog and two girls. We want it all, okay? Have we made a step by step plan to get there? No. But we have discussed this since we became a serious couple—and when has our relationship not been serious? It was from the very beginning because I swear, the second I knew I liked him was the second I fell in love with him. I can't picture myself with anyone else because he is the _one_. There is nobody else I want to be with. You and David used to call him Perfect for Blaine Hummel before we started dating and you're right. I love him, I love him, I love him and I can't lose him, Wes." Blaine rambled, barely stopping to take a breath.

"If you feel that way, just answer me one thing… Why didn't you propose sooner? Why have you been holding off? You used to make jokes about marrying Kurt and it's like every single year that passes, you just get more and more… I don't know what the word is. But why? Why do you do that?"

"I'm afraid." Blaine swallowed and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm so used to being shit on by people I get close to… and I feel like if I open up… and he says no… or if he hurts me… I don't know what I'll do. Because mentally, I've built so much of my life around him… As I've gotten older, I guess it's just been like… 'Well this is the time you're supposed to do it' and it freaks me out because I'm so afraid I'll open myself up that last bit and that I'll be hurt."

"Why do you think he'll hurt you?"

"I don't even know if I _do_ … I'm just scared. It's such a big jump but I just… I have to do it."

"What happens if after school he wants to live in New York or California? You don't like big cities like that."

"I would do anything to make him happy… and just being with him is all that I really need to be happy." Blaine swallowed.

"If you're going to do this… then you need to be sure you're not only doing it because you're afraid he's going to leave you. You need to do it because you're ready for that next step. You, not Kurt. _You_." Wes eyed him. "You don't have to do anything you're not ready for, Blaine. He'll understand… _especially_ if you talk to him—really talk to him about why you're scared. He loves you."

"I'm ready. Who isn't scared when they propose? I may have a better excuse for being scared but it doesn't change the fact that I want to spend the rest of my life with him and that there's no sense in putting it off longer than necessary." Blaine's voice came out firm and confident—something that didn't usually happen when he talked of marriage.

"Are you sure?" Wes asked.

"Positive." Blaine nodded, moving and grabbing his laptop. "Thanks for the talk, Wes."

"I don't think he listened to a damn thing I said." Wes muttered as Blaine left the room. "I tried."

* * *

"You look _horrible_."

Kurt looked up from his tablet the next afternoon, startled.

"No. You really do. What's wrong?" Alec said, dropping his bag and sitting next to Kurt in one of the lecture halls inside CCAD.

"Nothing." Kurt said, lip threatening to tremble.

"Kurt?" Alec asked. "What happened? Is Blaine okay? Your family?"

Kurt stood after some girl looked at them, leaving the lecture hall. Alec followed, not even grabbing their stuff. "Everyone is fine. Everyone but me is _fine_."

"What's wrong with you?"

Kurt wiped his eyes, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm so sad r-right now."

"Why?" Alec asked.

Kurt broke down in sobs, covering his face.

Alec darted forward, arms going around him. "Shh, Kurt. It's okay. It's alright."

Kurt buried his face, which he was still covering with his hands, in Alec's shoulder. They only had five minutes until class. It was not the time for this. He had to grow _up_.

"Shh, shh, shh." Alec soothed, hand going up and down his back. "Shh, Kurt. It's alright."

"I-I'm sorry." Kurt cried.

Alec slowly pulled away. "I'll be right back. Wait here."

Kurt nodded, trying his hardest to not cry and failing miserably.

Alec went into the classroom and came out with their things. "Come on."

"We have class."

"If you think you can sit through a lecture like this, you're insane." Alec said, putting Kurt's tablet into his messenger bag and then putting it over Kurt's shoulder. "We haven't missed a class. It's fine."

Kurt nodded, following Alec out of the school and trying to ignore people who were sending confused looks their way. They didn't stop walking until they reached the outside of the building, in the back where they could have some privacy.

Kurt took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. Alec watched him but did not press for information since the last two times asking had not worked. If Kurt wanted to talk, he would.

"T-The trip was h-horrible." Kurt watery hiccoughed.

"What happened?"

"He wasn't h-happy to see me." Kurt began to cry again. "W-We argued and I t-told him I r-regretted going."

"Do you?"

Kurt nodded, wiping his eyes. "I-I-It's not the s-same. I l-love him b-but it's not the same. I don't know i-if I can d-do this anymore, Alec."

Alec leaned over, wrapping an arm around Kurt.

"I-It's so hard to f-feel like I-I'm being p-pushed out of his l-life. W-We don't t-talk about th-things. Everyone else is m-moving forward and we're m-moving so slow we're g-going backwards. I c-can't do it anymore. I c-can't."

"Hey, calm down. This doesn't mean you can't do it. You two are a good couple, Kurt. You love him. Anyone who sees you can tell how in love with him you are and he clearly feels the same way." Alec said reasonably. "Problems can be easily fixed."

"Not t-these ones. I can't… I can't even think about it without _crying_. I have been progressively crying more and more and more since Christmas. How long am I supposed to l-live like t-this? H-He's i-in Massachusetts having the time o-of his life. L-Living with his b-best friend, s-staring at his h-hot study partner w-who is n-no doubt g-gay. L-Liking where he lives. A-And I'm in _Ohio_. I'm in Ohio a-alone."

"He's more alone there than you are here." Alec responded. "And don't you want him to be happy? You should want him to _like_ school."

"I w-want him to be h-happy. I just m-miss him so m-much. I w-want to be with him. I want him to w-want to be with _me_." Kurt's face screwed up and he buried his face in his knees. "I c-can't anymore."

"It's hard, Kurt. It's really hard. I know how hard it was—is—for me and Eric is closer. But I know that you can do it now if I could when I was so much younger." Alec scooted closer again, arm going back around him. "It's going to be okay but you've got to tell him what you're telling me or it's going to be harder to fix."

"It's already too broken to fix."

"Not until it's over, it's not." Alec whispered. "You can turn it around. The semester is almost over. Soon you'll be closer. Soon you'll see him more. It makes a world of difference."

"See, t-the thing is he's f-fine without me!" Kurt cried.

"No. He isn't. He misses you just as much as you miss him." Alec promised, rocking him a bit. "Don't give up on him, okay? You have to talk to him and give him the chance to make you feel better, to work on it. And I'm not saying he's done anything wrong. I'm saying I know how hard it can be to be apart. It sucks for everyone involved but sometimes you will both have different needs that need to be met and he may not know what those are for you or something. You just can't give up on this, Kurt. You can't."

"I d-didn't think it would be this hard." Kurt clutched Alec's shirt, crying into it.

"It will be okay. It'll all be okay." Alec frowned. "But you're so right. It is hard and you've got to work at it or it won't work. You need to talk to him. What is happening right now isn't working. You two need to work together to find what works."

Kurt nodded, not sitting up.

"It'll all be okay." Alec repeated, rubbing Kurt's back in an attempt to comfort him. "It'll all be okay."

Kurt stayed for five more minutes before he abruptly sat up, wiping his face off. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." Alec gave him a sad smile. "Just promise me that you'll try to—that you _will_ talk to Blaine about this?"

"I can t-try but sometimes we aren't the best at talking." Kurt sniffled a bit and looked up at the cloudy sky.

"Get better." Alec shrugged as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "You think you two will last forever if you can't even talk to him about what's _wrong_?"

"Sometimes we're good about it and others we're horrible. Lately we've been worse than horrible." Kurt scoffed a bit and shook his head, having calmed down almost completely. "I miss how it was right before he went to Harvard. We spent so much time together and were so close… I really felt like he was going to propose to me."

"I think he's scared… I mean, Eric is older than Blaine and we only just got engaged. We were together almost eight years." Alec shrugged a bit. "He's not going anywhere, Kurt. He loves you. Give him time and he'll come around. I never thought Eric would come around."

"Really?" Kurt sniffled.

"He's 'not marriage material.'" Alec snorted. "That's what he said two hours before we had sex for the first time."

Kurt laughed quietly.

"And I still had sex with him. Does that tell you how smart I was when I was fourteen?" Alec snorted again and watched two girls walk by, cutting through the back of their building to get to an adjacent one.

"Fourteen?" Kurt gasped.

"Yep. He was very persuasive—Okay, I didn't need much persuading. Look at him."

Kurt laughed, and was amazed by how it made him feel even a little better. "I don't think I would have needed much persuading either."

Alec laughed loudly. "I'll tell him you said that. He'll get a kick out of it. He thinks he's starting to look old. He's twenty-freaking-five."

"Well it was almost four years ago that I met him." Kurt teased.

Alec laughed again. "Oh, that is too good. You know he's hot, though."

Kurt shook his head, smiling.

"Boys." Alec sighed.

"Boys." Kurt sniffled again, wiping his eyes one last time. "Thanks for listening to me and letting me cry on you."

"Anytime." Alec smiled sadly and squeezed his hand affectionately before standing. "It'll work out. You two are meant to be. It has to."

Kurt forced a smile this time and stood as well. "I hope you're right."

* * *

 _You don't even have money for a ring right now_.

Blaine pushed the thought aside, wondering into a Tiffany's.

He wasn't going to buy it now, of course, but he would never propose with anything other than a Tiffany's ring and it couldn't have hurt to have a price estimate, right?

"What can I help you find today?" A cheerful woman asked as soon as he walked in. "An engagement ring?"

Blaine's eyebrow shot up. "Yes?"

"We have some great ones she'll love right over—."

"Do you have any men's engagement rings?" Blaine interrupted.

"We sure do. They're going to be right over here." She said, not showing any hint of disgust. She led him to a section of the store, stepping behind the counter. "Are there any that you'd like to see? Or did you have a certain one in mind?"

"I'm not actually buying today." Blaine admitted.

"If you want to take a look at any, still, let me know." She smiled. "How long have you two been together?"

"Six years." Blaine smiled.

"I'm sure he's ready for a ring." She laughed.

"Oh, he is." Blaine said, staring at the rings on display. They were all gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. The thought of buying one of these rings for Kurt had his stomach tied up in knots, although he couldn't tell if it was anxiety or excitement. Lately there seemed to be a combination of both when he thought about doing _it_. Proposing. In the near future.

He backed away, putting his hands into his pockets and smiling at the woman. "Thanks. Have a good day."

"You too. Come back and see us!" She called after him.

Blaine rushed to his car and got in, driving back to his house. Wes' car wasn't home yet but his other roommate's was. Lovely. He made his way into the house, ignoring the feeling of Asshole's eyes on him as he went to his room, and changed into sweat pants and a t-shirt. He and Adrian, who happened to also play soccer in school and liked to go running, had gone on a few walks together over the last several weeks and if Wes wasn't there to distract him, maybe Adrian would.

He heard his roommate mumbling under his breath as he went out of the house and began walking down the street in the direction of Adrian's complex. Less than a minute later, Adrian opened the door.

"Hey, you free?"

"Yeah." Adrian nodded, stepping out and not even bothering to lock his door. "Walking?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd see if you wanted to come."

"Sure." Adrian said cheerfully.

"Did you start that introduction yet?" Blaine asked as they began to walk down the block.

"Let's not talk about that." Adrian groaned. "It's not going too well for me to tell you the truth."

"I haven't tried to start." Blaine admitted.

"Weird. You're always on top of stuff." Adrian commented. "Did I miss an apocalypse warning or something?"

"No. I've just been distracted." Blaine laughed.

"Oh?" Adrian asked. "Why?"

"I'm thinking of proposing to my boyfriend."

"Yeah, I'd be pretty distracted if I was going to propose to a guy too." Adrian laughed this time. "Congrats, Blaine. You two made an adorable couple. He's cute."

"The cutest." Blaine agreed. "I really love him."

Adrian smiled. "Well don't stress about it. That's a good thing. Be happy about it!"

Blaine's smile grew. "I am. It's kind of freaky, though."

"Of course it is. You're 'taking the plunge.'" Adrian laughed. "You'll be alright, though. It seems like you care about him a lot. He clearly cares about you enough to surprise you with a visit. If you love each other, go for it."

Blaine nodded. "Enough about it, though. It's kind of making me sick to my stomach."

"Okay. Well, I propose we go meet tomorrow and work on our introductions together." Adrian suggested to change the subject. "I'll help you with you concluding statement if you help me with the thesis statement."

"That's very fair." Blaine nodded as they came to a stop, once again in front of Adrian's house.

"Sweet." Adrian smiled brightly. "I better get to work on some of our reading, but I will see you bright and early tomorrow in class?"

"Sure will." Blaine smiled back. "Have a good night, Adrian."

"You too, Blaine." Adrian waved.

* * *

Maybe spending all of the money he had saved for spring break to fly in to Lima wasn't Blaine's brightest idea but one week after looking at prospective engagement rings was a good a time as any, right?

He didn't know when he decided he was for sure going to propose. Maybe it was in the car on the way home from the airport, after his talk with Wes, after looking at rings… All he knew was the fact that he had to show Kurt just how invested in their relationship he really was. He needed Kurt to know they still mattered, they were still perfect forever, that Kurt wasn't the only one that cared about their relationship.

It was obvious that changes needed to be made to rectify the problem, and Blaine was stepping up. He was going to do it. What other choice did he have? Would he have been proposing if he wasn't worried he would lose Kurt? Not yet. But would he have proposed eventually? Of course he would have.

Blaine swallowed as the taxi got closer and closer to the garage. He was about to do it. About to ask Burt a question that would change his life forever. As soon as he asked it, he couldn't take it back.

Was he absolutely _sure_ about this? He still had time to change his mind. If he had the taxi driver turn around, nobody would ever know. He'd made sure to know that _nobody_ knew he was coming just in case he _did_ change his mind. (Nobody but Wes, that is, but that was a given.)

He had to do it. He had to show Kurt that he was serious. And in all honestly, Blaine was worried Kurt would leave him if he _didn't_ propose. He loved Kurt so, so, so much. Nothing scared Blaine more than the thought of losing him. Not even proposals or marriage.

"Up here on the left." Blaine said, grabbing cash.

_You can still change your mind._

Blaine handed the cash to the driver and climbed out, grabbing his messenger bag. He'd only brought a change of clothes for tomorrow. Because he had left immediately after his morning class that day and had no classes tomorrow, he was able to actually spend the night with Kurt. While Kurt was taking his midterms Blaine would be able to safely talk to Burt without fear of being overheard and ruining the surprise. Afterwards, he would get to be with his boyfriend— _future fiancé_.

Blaine shook the thoughts out of his head, walking into the garage. He glanced around the room but did not see Burt.

"Uh… Is Burt here?" He asked somewhat anxiously, stepping up to someone who he vaguely remembered seeing before—either when asking permission to get Kurt a puppy or when Kurt and his dad got into it, he wasn't really sure which.

"Boss, your adopted son is here!" The guy yelled.

"Finn's visiting his fiancé in— _Blaine_?" Burt asked, stepping out of the office.

"Hey!" Blaine said brightly. It was definitely too late to turn back now, but Blaine found himself okay with that. This was happening. He was going to propose to Kurt.

"Hey, kid! What are you doing here?" Burt asked, going to hug Blaine and then backing up. "I would but I'm dirty."

Blaine shrugged and hugged him anyway.

"Kurt won't be home until way later. He's got midterms." Burt said after they pulled away.

"I know that… I actually came to see you."

Burt's eyebrow shot up. "To see me?"

"Yeah." Blaine gave a big smile. "I hope you haven't had lunch yet."

"Jeff, I'm going to head out with Blaine. Can you and Joe hold down the shop until I get back?"

"Sure can." Jeff said, taking a seat behind the desk.

"It's a wonder I still have a business with people like him as employees." Burt said gruffly, although clearly teasing, as he led Blaine from the garage. "Are you gonna tell Kurt you're here?"

"Well I was hoping I could stay at the house tonight." Blaine laughed as they both got into Burt's truck. "He'll probably notice me."

Burt chuckled, driving towards a diner. "I'm sure he's going to be happy to see you. Kid misses you an awful lot, Blaine."

"I miss him too." Blaine sighed a bit. "I wish I could see him more."

"You boys do what you can and you'll be fine." Burt said confidently, pulling into a parking lot of a diner and getting out of his truck.

…

"So, what is this about? You all of a sudden flying down here to talk?" Burt raised his eyebrow, eyes twinkling. "I think I know what it's about."

Blaine looked at the ceiling, taking a deep breath. "Kurt means _everything_ to me and—."

"Yes. You don't even have to ask, Blaine. You didn't have to make the trip." Burt interrupted before Blaine could even look back at him. "You know you've been a part of this family since the day you walked into Kurt's life."

"So you mean it's okay that I lost your house and garage in a drunken bet against a Harvard guru?" Blaine joked.

Burt chuckled.

"I spent money I don't even have to come here and ask. I had this speech planned." Blaine laughed, looking embarrassed.

"Wait, how did you get here?" Burt asked, confused.

"I used the money I've been saving up for spring break." Blaine admitted. "I just… I had to ask before I chickened out… and I wanted to ask in person."

"Don't worry. I'll transfer some money into your account next week so you can still fly down for spring break." Burt said gruffly. "But level with me, kid. Why now?"

Blaine looked hesitant.

"Kurt said you and he were on the rocks." Burt admitted. "Are you doing this because you want to or because he wants you to?"

"I love him more than life itself. I'd die for him." Blaine responded seriously, making eye contact. "The stuff going on with Kurt and I is playing a part in it, but… Even if I'm scared, I need to just do it…" He trailed off. "Were you scared when you proposed?"

"There is a difference between nerves and being scared." Burt said. "Nerves are normal… but if you're scared, it may be too soon. You don't want to rush something like this."

"I know I want to be with him forever." Blaine said. "I think I'm ready."

"If you're sure." Burt said, face breaking into a smile. "This is the best news I've heard in a long time, Blaine. For a while I was afraid he'd never find someone and then you came along and…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "I'm really glad that I'll be able to call you my son."

Blaine stood, going around the table and hugging him.

"Have you told Carole yet?"

Blaine laughed. "No. I didn't think she'd be able to keep it from you and I wanted you to be the first to know."

Burt pulled back, squeezing his shoulder. "She's going to be very happy."

"Well I'm happy… I want everyone to be happy." Blaine let out a nervous laugh.

"Everyone will be." Burt grinned again. "When are you going to do it?"

"I was thinking spring break maybe… Wes and I are going to go and find a ring when I get back when we both have some free time. If not spring break, maybe over the summer in New York… maybe in Central Park… or if I do it over spring break, I have no idea where." Blaine groaned. "I'll come up with something."

"You will." Burt nodded.

"Do you know what time Kurt gets home from classes today?" Blaine asked.

"A few hours." Burt said. "Give me enough time to fix a car or two and we'll head home, alright?"

Blaine smiled happily. "Sure. Should I just wait at the garage?"

"You sure should." Burt grinned, eyes still twinkling. "I always hoped you'd be my son in law, Blaine. From the beginning. Nobody else is good enough for Kurt. Nobody."

Blaine's smile grew. "I just hope he says yes."

"He will. There's no doubt about that, kiddo." Burt said, taking a bite of his of his food. "Don't you even worry about that."

* * *

* * *

So Kurt hadn't had the best day. Then again, he hadn't had the best _week_ so what difference did it make? If he wasn't stressing out about his relationship with Blaine, he was stressing about buying stuff for New York, keeping up with his internship's new demands, or getting the vast amount of school work done in a timely fashion (ha). They weren't actually handing stuff in with it so close to the end, however they had to do their senior fashion show which would undoubtedly take all of their free time. It wasn't that Kurt _minded_ doing it. In fact, he liked—loved it. It was hard to like anything at the moment, though.

He pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. It had taken long enough submitting and going through everyone's midterm portfolios that he was home past Melody's bedtime and he wasn't particularly sad about that. He wasn't exactly in the mood for smiling and laughing and pretending that his heart wasn't becoming more and more broken with each day—each hour—that passed. He wanted to go upstairs, take a shower, eat some dinner, and then go to bed—without talking to Blaine. Always without talking to Blaine.

"Traffic was absolutely _horrible_ , Dad." Kurt announced as he came into the house, tossing his messenger bag onto the couch. "And it took forever because some girl didn't know how to deliver a presentation and the professor actually let her _try again_. Is she going to get to try again in the real world? I think not."

"Oh?" Blaine asked from the couch where we was sitting, unseen by Kurt evidently.

"Yes. Seriously I don't know how this girl thinks she'll—." Kurt stopped mid-sentence, slowly turning to look back at the couch. His eyes widened in shock. Blaine. _Here_. Blaine. Is. Here. "BLAINE!" he shrieked, running at Blaine and throwing his arms around him, in the world's most awkward position but it didn't matter because Blaine was there and beautiful and _there_.

"Hey!" Blaine grinned, hugging Kurt tightly. "I was wondering if you'd even notice. You walked right by me!"

"What are you doing here? No, I don't care! I can't believe you're here!" Kurt pulled back and kissed him hard on the mouth. How did it work this way? Spending four hours crying about them the night before and Blaine shows up and it's just like it doesn't matter? Like he never left or something? How did Blaine Anderson _do_ this to him?

"I know! I can't believe I'm here either!" Blaine said, slightly breathless, after pulling away from their kiss. He lowered Kurt, who had wrapped his legs around Blaine's waist at some point, to the ground so he could stand.

"Why _are_ you here, though?" Kurt asked, panting a bit too.

"I thought you didn't care." Blaine teased, pulling back and grabbing his hand.

"Well I changed my mind." Kurt kissed him again. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to surprise you." Blaine said, and it wasn't entirely a lie. The real surprise just wouldn't be until later. "I wanted to see you smile. You sounded so sad the last time we talked on the phone."

"Well you did surprise me _and_ make me smile." Kurt beamed, choosing not address the fact that Blaine could tell he was sad. Then again, Blaine _knew_ him. Of course he would be able to know Kurt was sad without Kurt saying it. Too bad he hadn't caught on sooner, though… Kurt pushed that thought away. He needed to be happy because _Blaine is here_!

Blaine kissed him. "How did your midterm presentations go? Apart from the idiot girl, that is."

"I think it went well. They seemed to really like it." Kurt linked hands with Blaine. "How is Harvard? How did that one presentation go Monday?"

"It went good." Blaine smiled.

"When did you get here?" Kurt asked, looking positively giddy.

"Around lunch time."

"Were you just here alone all day?" Kurt frowned.

"No. I went to have lunch with Burt and hanged around the garage until he left. We talked a lot, watched some TV." Blaine shrugged. "And then I went to the store with Carole and Melody… that was definitely an… adventure."

"I warned you, hon." Carole said coming through with a hamper full of Melody's laundry. "Kurt, sweetie, hi."

"Hey." Kurt smiled and waved. When Carole turned down the hall, he looked back at Blaine. "How long are you here until?"

"I have to fly out tomorrow afternoon." Blaine gave a sad smile.

"That's okay! I'm just so happy to see you!" Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine, burying his face in his neck. He truly was just happy to _see_ Blaine.

"I love you so much." Blaine whispered in his ear.

"I love you too." Kurt kissed Blaine's cheek several times, for once wanting to cry _happy_ tears. "I can't believe you're _here_. Oh my God. You're _here_."

"I kind of can't either." Blaine let out a laugh before kissing Kurt again.

"Are you hungry? I can take you out to eat." Kurt asked.

"How about take out?" Blaine asked. "Better yet delivery?"

"Good idea. We're kind of cursed when it goes to dinner out lately." Kurt joked. "Chinese?"

"Oh God. I haven't had Chinese since October." Blaine groaned. "Yes, please."

"Let me change and then we'll find the menu and order it." Kurt kissed Blaine quickly, gave him a positively giddy smile, and ran up the stairs.

 _I'm making the right decision,_ Blaine thought to himself as he pulled out his phone. _I really think I am._

He pulled out his phone, tapping out a quick text.

 _He said yes,_ Blaine texted Wes eagerly later that night when Kurt was in the bathroom getting ready for bed.

 **YOU PROPOSED TO KURT? BLAINE! WHAT?** ,Wes responded within two seconds.

_No. Burt said yes. He gave me permission._

Blaine's phone buzzed four times in a row and Blaine went back into his messages.

**Oh.**

**Asshole.**

**Why wouldn't you be specify?**

**Of course he did. Kurt's entire family is basically in love with you,** Wes responded almost immediately.

Blaine let out a deep breath and let out a nervous sort of giggle.

He had asked Burt's permission to _propose to Kurt._

He could literally go to a store tomorrow, come home, and propose before leaving for Harvard in the afternoon. Not that he would ever do it like that. When he proposed to Kurt, it had to be _perfect._ Absolutely perfect. Kurt would accept no less.

Okay. He was exaggerating. He knew if he just did it over a homemade meal, Kurt would still think it was sweet… but still. Kurt deserved everything and if he was going to do it, well he was going to do it _right_. Kurt deserved it.

 **You don't have to do anything you're not ready for, Blainers. If he's the one, he'll wait,** Wes sent after not getting an answer.

 _I know,_ Blaine responded, looking up when Kurt came in. He quickly locked his phone before Kurt could see. "All clean?"

"I am." Kurt smiled, plopping next to him on the bed.

There was a tiny knock on the door and then it flung open. "Kurt!"

Kurt waved. "Hey, Mellie. Isn't it past bedtime?"

"Uh huh!" Melody hopped onto Kurt's bed and looked at Blaine, giggling and then waving.

"Hey, pumpkin." Blaine smiled and tickled her tiny toes.

"Hiii." Melody giggled again and then wedged herself between the two of them.

Kurt rolled his eyes, still smiling. "Miss Melody, you cannot sleep in my bed tonight."

"Aww, drats." Melody stuck out her lower lip and then kissed Kurt's cheek. "G'night, Kurt!"

"Goodnight. Love you." Kurt kissed the top of her head.

"Don't I get one?" Blaine whined.

Melody gave him a loud kiss on the cheek. "Of course, silly."

"She has been hanging out with you too long." Kurt rolled his eyes. "And you're not even _here._ "

Blaine grinned. "What can I say? Great minds think alike."

Melody kissed both of their cheeks again before skipping from the room.

"Bedtime ritual?" Blaine asked, grin softening into a small smile.

"Bedtime ritual." Kurt nodded.

"Well I think it's cute." Blaine nudged him.

Kurt leaned against him and let out a content sigh. "Tonight has been perfect… which is saying something considering I had three midterms due today."

"I think it was perfect too." Blaine looked down at him.

Kurt nuzzled his arm, smiling. "This is what I wanted… my visit to Boston to feel like. I haven't felt like this since last year. It's nice."

"Sorry we're not closer together." Blaine whispered, running his fingers through Kurt's hair that was just barely damp.

"Me too." Kurt sighed a bit and then yawned, curling up against Blaine. "I'm sorrier I said I regretted coming to your house. Blaine, I…"

"No. It's okay." Blaine interrupted. "You just… you kind of scared me. I don't want to make you feel like I don't care… I care more than I could express with words, Kurt. We both know I'm not the best about talking about how I feel but… I love you so much. I could never love anything or anyone more than you."

Kurt reached up, stroking Blaine's curls.

 _This is killing me,_ Kurt thought in the back of his head.

Blaine pressed their foreheads together and then gently kissed him.

"Are you sure you're not upset about it, though?" Kurt asked before kissing him again quickly.

"I'm sure." Blaine promised. "I just want us to be happy."

"Well we're happy right now." Kurt smiled. _But for how long? An hour? Just for the night?_

"Would it be too cliché to say I hope we have a happily ever after?" Blaine asked teasingly.

"Mmmh I don't know. Are you my Prince Charming?"

"Would that make you a princess?" Blaine grinned.

Kurt reached down, swatting his ass.

Blaine wiggled his butt, grin not leaving his face. "Do you miss my ass when I'm in Massachusetts, Kurt?"

"Not as much as you miss mine." Kurt joked.

"I can't argue there." Blaine laid flat on his back, pulling Kurt onto his chest. "Because I happen to love your ass."

Kurt giggled a bit and leaned down to kiss him. "If you shut up, I might like let you touch it."

Blaine gasped, eyes widening. "You mean I get to touch the butt?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Under the condition that you don't go around saying 'I touched the butt' for the next two weeks, maybe."

"That almost takes the fun out of the whole thing." Blaine pouted. "Almost."

"Somehow I think that you'll find a way to carry on." Kurt snorted. "Should we get up and order the Chinese?"

"There's something I'd like to do first." Blaine grinned, undoing Kurt's pajama pants' drawstring.

"Of course there is." Kurt giggled a bit and unbuttoned Blaine's shirt. Maybe having sex wasn't the best idea when Kurt had spent the last several weeks crying over them, but maybe Kurt wasn't exactly full of good ideas lately anyway.

* * *

Blaine sat up when his cellphone began to vibrate early the next morning—five in the morning early, to be exact. He rubbed his face and looked at Kurt who shifted a bit, but nuzzled his face against his pillow and relaxed.

Would Kurt be happy Blaine was going to wake him this early? Probably not. Blaine wanted to make every minute they had together count, though. Minutes couldn't count if they were _sleeping_. Besides, they hadn't exactly ever made it out of bed the night before to get food and Blaine was just short of starving.

He leaned over Kurt, putting his hand on Kurt's shoulder and gently shaking it. "Wake up."

Kurt rolled onto his stomach, pulling his pillow over his head and groaning. He didn't have class. Why did he need to wake up?

"Kurt, wake up." Blaine repeated, tickling his side. Man, he really missed waking Kurt up in the mornings. Kurt was definitely the most adorable when he was half asleep.

Kurt arched up and whined. "Why?"

"I have to leave at 2 in the afternoon." Blaine whispered loudly before bending down and kissing Kurt.

Kurt, still not fully awake, smiled and began to slowly kiss him back.

"I want to spend as long with you as I can." Blaine said, pulling away. He then added, "Awake."

Kurt sat up slowly, looking at his alarm clock and wincing at the bright green numbers. He then groaned, "Blaine, it's five."

"You can handle it." Blaine teased, kissing his forehead.

Kurt plopped back onto the bed, yawning and wrapping his arms around Blaine. "Mmmkay. I can handle it."

Blaine giggled as Kurt nuzzled his shoulder and closed his eyes. "You're falling asleep."

"'m not." Kurt protested. "Just resting my eyes."

"In the dark, snuggled up?" Blaine questioned.

"Mhmm." Kurt nodded, licking his lips. "Mmmh."

"Let's go out and get breakfast." Blaine eased him into a sitting position, laughing when Kurt slumped against Blaine's chest. If he was here, and only for nine more hours, he wanted to make the most of it. He wanted Kurt to feel the way he had used to before Blaine had left for school. He had to make Kurt remember what they were before Kurt did something drastic. He had to make Kurt remember so that when he proposed, Kurt would say yes. "Wake up?"

"O-Okay." Kurt yawned and stumbled out of the bed.

"Be careful." Blaine giggled again.

"'m okay." Kurt mumbled, going into his closet.

Blaine giggled again, shaking his head. Most adorable boyfriend. Ever.

_Maybe fiancé soon._

Blaine bit his lip, feeling a rush of excitement (and maybe some nerves too) go through him. He would be proposing to Kurt. He was terrified of the commitment, afraid of being hurt, but… but Kurt would never hurt him. So it was going to be okay. He didn't _need_ to be scared. Kurt wasn't everyone else.

Kurt came up to him, fully clothed and hair styled.

"Did you just walk past me to go to the bathroom and I didn't even notice you?" Blaine asked, looking up at him.

"Mhm."Kurt bent down and kissed the top of his head. "You must have been thinking really hard about pancakes."

"Something like that." Blaine smiled at him. "Are you ready to go?"

"If you are." Kurt smiled and took Blaine's hand. "We have to be quiet leaving or Kreacher will start to bark."

"Where is he?"

"Under the bed. Don't ask me. Ever since you left, he either sleeps on my chest or under the bed on your side." Kurt shrugged, looking confused. "I don't understand it."

"Weird dog." Blaine mumbled as they slowly and nearly silently crept out of the room and out of the house. He reached for Kurt's keys.

Kurt eyed him before very slowly handing his keys over.

"Oh, stop." Blaine rolled his eyes.

"If you get my car rear ended because you are a slow driver-." Kurt began.

"Shut up." Blaine cut him off. "You're a terrible driver and I'm considering never letting you drive our future kids around."

"Terrible driver?" Kurt exclaimed. "How many wrecks have I been in?"

"That was my only wreck and it wasn't my fault!" Blaine cried. "That girl who was speeding plowed into my car!"

"If you weren't so slow, you could have gotten out of the way." Kurt teased, giving him an impish smile.

Blaine scoffed.

"I'm kidding. I'm kidding!" Kurt hugged Blaine.

"Yeah. You joke about it now, Sir Cries A Lot." Blaine mumbled, but there was still a hint of teasing in his voice.

"You didn't see that car…or you." Kurt said, facial expression turning serious.

"It should really be an indication of the dangers of speeding, not that I was too slow." Blaine pointed out, tapping Kurt's nose.

"I don't _speed_. I just drive slightly faster than the average driver." Kurt promised.

"Speeder." Blaine coughed.

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"In the car." Blaine said, opening the passenger side door.

Kurt heaved a big mock sigh and got in. "If you…"

Blaine shut the door before he could finish, grinning.

Kurt rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Asshole."

"I heard that." Blaine chirped getting into the driver seat. "No backseat driving."

"I'm in the passenger seat."

"Shh." Blaine said, and then added pleasantly, "Asshole."

Kurt shook his head and grabbed Blaine's hand after they were backed out of the driveway, smiling to himself. He had really missed Blaine.

…

It had been an amazing morning—much better than either Kurt or Blaine had had in a long time. They had gotten to spend time together and it was almost like before, when they were too lazy to get out of bed until after noon so they would just go out for breakfast and then spend the rest of the day aimlessly wandering around. Only this time, they couldn't wander aimlessly because this time they had to come home… so Blaine could pack and go back to Harvard Again.

Kurt couldn't help but frown when he came into the bedroom and found Blaine neatly folding his pajamas and putting them into his bag. He wanted to be happy, it had been such a good visit, but to know Blaine would be _gone_ in an hour… How could he _not_ frown?

Blaine looked up, forcing a smile. "Soon you'll be in New York and we'll be a lot closer. We can do this more."

Kurt forced a smile as well. This was the feeling Kurt knew well. Overwhelming sadness. How long would it be before Blaine and he talked again? Three days? Four? "I know but it's not the same… Maybe we were lucky when you were at UK, living together and being relatively close to our schools."

"I don't think we were lucky then and unlucky now if that's what you mean… We just… have to go to different schools in different areas to get what we want out of a career. That's all." Blaine said.

"I feel like I kept pushing it out of my mind and it's smacking me all at once." Kurt sighed a bit. Now he was wondering if they'd even made the right decision in— _No. Stop that. You love Blaine._

Blaine looked at Kurt, hazel eyes impossibly sad. It was as if Blaine knew what Kurt was thinking. Even if he hadn't said the words, Blaine knew. He swallowed and, after a moment, began to speak. "Today and yesterday were really good, right?"

"It's not that it wasn't _good_. I just get lonely." Kurt admitted, feeling bad for clearly having upset Blaine. Really, he hadn't done anything wrong. It just hurt that he was leaving _again_. Leaving, always leaving, never staying.

"Well it's not too long until spring break. We'll have a whole week alone together." Blaine kissed him. "And I get lonely without you too, you know? I miss you a lot. Every single day."

Kurt grabbed his hand and squeezed, leaning his head on Blaine's shoulder. "I've begun to hate airports."

"Me too." Blaine confessed, seeming a little more relaxed. He reached up, stroking the back of Kurt's neck. "Me too."

Kurt glanced down at his watch, the one Blaine had given him years ago, and sighed. "We need to leave."

Blaine leaned forward and kissed him once again. "Alright… Thanks for driving me."

"You don't have to thank me." Kurt whispered and stood up.

"You leaving, hon?" Carole asked when they made it into the living room.

"Yeah." Blaine said, going to give her a big hug.

"We're all going to miss you so much." Carole said, hugging him.

"Nobody more than Kurt." Burt added in a gruff voice, squeezing Kurt's shoulder.

"I'm going to miss all of you too." Blaine bent, hugging Melody.

"Do you have to go to dogger school?" Melody whined.

" _Law_ school." Blaine corrected. "And yes, I do. So I can have enough money to buy Kurt a house with a red door."

Kurt looked at him, smiling a bit and hugging himself. It really did hurt more every time they said goodbye. He would have much rather Blaine stayed in Ohio and not have a red door farther down the line. He _missed_ Blaine. He was tired of this whole thing, saying bye, going to airports, crying. He was sick of it.

"He doesn't need a red door. We misses you." Melody pouted.

"I bet I miss you more." Blaine said, tapping her nose. "You have Oreo to keep you company."

"You can have Oreo back if you stay." Melody looked at him with big eyes.

"Melody, don't make him feel bad." Carole said, bending down.

"Don't go." Tears filled Melody's eyes.

"Pumpkin." Blaine cooed, scooping her up.

"I don't know why she's doing this. She's usually fine when you go." Carole whispered as Blaine rocked Melody and patted her hair.

"I miss him!" Melody cried into his shoulder.

"Mellie, we've really gotta go." Kurt said gently, bending down.

"We m-m-miss you!"

"I'm sorry, Melody." Blaine cooed. "But I'll be back in a few weeks."

"Y-You're never here!" Melody cried. "Daddy, m-m-make him stay!"

"Come on." Burt came over. "Give him another hug and tell him bye. He's gotta catch his plane, Melody."

"We'll spend sooooo much time together over spring break." Blaine whispered in her ear, giving her a tight squeeze. "We'll watch movies and read books and do anything you want to do. I'll take you to King's Island, we can go to that funny place with all the giraffes…"

Melody sniffled and nodded into his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry I can't be here with you more but I love you oh so much."

"As much as Kurt?" Melody pulled back and asked.

"Well it's two completely different kinds of love, but yes. You're like the little sister I never had."

"You're like the big brother I never had."

"Hey!" Kurt exclaimed. "You have _two_!"

"Oh yeah!" Melody giggled a bit.

Blaine laughed and kissed her cheek. "Don't cry anymore, okay? I'll be back soon. I promise we'll do anything you want."

"Kurt and Blaine and Melody day?" Melody sniffled.

"Perfect. You pick one of the days I'm here and it's on." Blaine kissed her cheek again before sitting her down. "You call me tomorrow, pretty girl. Alright?"

Melody nodded, gave him one last hug, and let Burt lead her from the room.

"Now I kind of feel bad." Blaine said as Carole hugged him.

"Don't, hon. She'll be just fine."

"Yeah. She cries when dad leaves to run to the store sometimes." Kurt laughed, trying to make Blaine feel better. "She's okay."

Blaine nodded, although he still felt guilty. "Tell Burt bye for me?"

"Of course, sweetie. Have a safe flight and let us know when you make it home." Carole touched his face. "I'm so glad we got to see you even if it was just for a day."

Blaine smiled. "I'm glad I got to see everyone too."

…

Kurt wasn't sure which was worse, the fact that he was driving Blaine to the airport to leave once again or the fact that they were being silent. Kurt didn't know what to say, though. He _wanted_ to ask Blaine to not leave, that he was having doubts, that he didn't know how much longer he could do long distance. He wanted to tell Blaine that sometimes it hurt to breathe knowing he would have to go to sleep alone in a bed, that he wouldn't wake up to sleepy kisses and nuzzles, that there wouldn't be any more breakfasts together—in home or in a diner.

He hated that everything always end on a negative note. How was he supposed to be cheerful on the way to send Blaine off again, though? Every time he dropped Blaine off or he was dropped off by Blaine, it was worse than the time before. Just how bad was he going to feel when he got home, when he went to bed without Blaine next to him? Sometimes he wished they didn't see each other because it made things that much worse when they were apart.

 _I can't do this again,_ Kurt thought as he got out of the car after half an hour of silence. He looked up at the airport sign, trying to not focus on Blaine grabbing his bag and shutting the car door. He really hated that freaking sign.

"It was really nice to see you even if it was only for one day."

Kurt shook his thoughts away and looked at Blaine, who looked timid. He tried to force himself to smile but he couldn't make it come. He was to the point where he couldn't even pretend anymore. "Yeah."

"Kurt…" Blaine took a deep breath.

"Yes?"

"Don't do this. Don't be distant." Blaine pleaded. "We only have like five more minutes."

"I'm sorry. It's hard."

"After I came all this way to see you… It's hard to connect with me?" Blaine asked.

"It's not like that. It just hurts every time we say goodbye." Kurt frowned.

"Do you think it doesn't hurt me too?" Blaine questioned. "Do you think I'm not going to get on that plane and wish I was coming to you, not leaving you?"

Kurt swallowed. "I don't think that at all."

"When you act this way when I'm leaving, it's like you're punishing me. Like I did this."

"You did do this." Kurt said sadly, looking down at his shoes.

Blaine dropped his hand and backed away. "I did this? I thought you were happy for me that I got into _Harvard_. I worked my ass off for years to get where I am today and you just see it as something I did to you?"

Kurt didn't speak. What was he supposed to say? He knew Blaine wasn't doing anything _to_ them. He knew it was him, Kurt, who couldn't handle the distance. But Blaine had caused the distance. In his mind, Blaine had… well… done this. Not to _him_. To _them_.

"Were you ever happy for me, Kurt?" Blaine asked after several silent seconds passed. Kurt looked up, hated seeing the hurt look on Blaine's face.

He had to be honest. Eventually he had to be honest. He had never wanted Blaine to go. He had never been happy that Blaine left him behind. And he couldn't pretend anymore.

"I'm happy you got in, Blaine, but I've never been happy that you… went." Kurt admitted, feeling selfish and immature as the words came out but unable to help the way he felt.

Blaine let out a hollow laugh and snatched his bag off of the ground, a look of disbelief and anger on his face. "At least I know how you really feel."

Kurt opened his mouth to speak as Blaine pressed a haste kiss to his cheek. Kurt almost wished he hadn't. Wished Blaine hadn't come to visit, that they hadn't had sex, that they hadn't had a good night and morning. It made everything so much harder. It always made everything so much harder.

"Bye, Kurt." Blaine said, walking through the security line without even giving Kurt the chance to speak.

What did he say? He was sorry he was honest? He hated that he felt that way? That he loved Blaine even if he wasn't happy? What did you say in situations like this? Why was Kurt even in a situation like this? _What was he supposed to say?_

For a split second, he didn't care that Blaine was walking through that line without giving Kurt a chance to make it better, justify his words, _something_. But it was Blaine, he did love him, he didn't want him to leave on bad terms _again_.

"Blaine!" Kurt exclaimed, finally getting his voice to work. He wasn't sure of what he would say, but he had to at least say something.

Blaine slowed down, looking as though he was going to turn around, but then he kept going until he was out of sight.

Kurt turned and began to walk towards his car, beginning to loudly cry.

He wasn't going to do this again.

…

Later that same night, Kurt found himself sitting at his desk and staring down at a picture of he and Blaine with red-rimmed eyes. He sniffled, turning it over and staring out the window. It was too dark to really see anything, but it was better than looking at something that made him want to cry.

How had he been stupid enough to say something like that to Blaine? Who knew how long it would be before Blaine talked to him? Then again, Kurt thought to himself as he swallowed, maybe Blaine not talking to him was a good thing. Maybe Kurt could use some time to think about what he wanted to do. Something needed to be done because Kurt couldn't live like this for the next two and a half years. Maybe with enough time alone he'd know what to do.

"Hey, Kurt, Carole saved a plate for you. It's in the fridge." Burt said from Kurt's doorway, shaking him from his thoughts.

"Okay, dad." Kurt said, not turning around to look at his father.

"Everything okay?"

"Can we… talk?" Kurt turned, looking at Burt with red-rimmed eyes.

"Of course we can talk." Burt said while closing the door and then sitting on the edge of Kurt's bed. He watched his son, waiting for Kurt to speak first.

"Dad… The uh…" Kurt swallowed. "I'm not happy."

"What do you mean? Is something going on?" Burt questioned.

"With Blaine."

Burt stared at Kurt, not quite sure what to say. Had they gotten into an argument? Or was this something bigger?

"I… feel like it's to the point where our issues can't be fixed." Kurt frowned. "I love him more than anything but… I can't do this anymore. I c-can't cry all night every night until we're closer or he's done with school."

"Wait." Burt said, confused. This wasn't happening. Blaine had come to ask for permission to propose and… it sounded like Kurt was considering ending the relationship. "You can't do what anymore?"

"I c-can't handle the distance, the ignored calls, the cancelled trips, the s-saying goodbye. It just hurts too much. I want to be with him, but e-every day I feel more and more miserable because we never get to see each other, we never even really get to talk at all, and I feel like we're not even in a real relationship anymore." Kurt took a deep breath, willing himself to not cry.

"What are you saying to me, Kurt?" Burt asked slowly.

Tears filled Kurt's eyes again for the millionth time. "I miss him _all_ the time to the point where I cry myself to sleep. I've tried to b-be positive but I don't think I can do it anymore."

"Are you saying that you and Blaine broke up?"

"N-No but m-maybe we sho-should." Kurt wiped his eyes as tears slipped down his cheeks.

" _No_." Burt said rather forcefully. "I know I said I wouldn't get involved, Kurt, but you're making a huge mistake."

"It's just so h-hard." Kurt cried.

"Do you think life isn't hard?" Burt asked, not harsh but firm.

"It's not that." Kurt sniffled.

"I want you to listen to me and then think about what I have to say." Burt said. "You've gotta work through this with him, kid. You've _got_ to. He dropped out of school for a semester to take care of you, he drove out of state to a school, he has always been there for you since you met him… He sat in the hospital room, holding your hand, before you'd even had your lung surgery and… the look on his face… Blaine loves you, Kurt."

"It's not about l-love." Kurt sniffled. "B-Besides, l-love should m-make me feel this way."

"Do you think love is supposed to be _easy_?" Burt asked. "Do you think it was easy for Blaine to take care of you after you were attacked, to see you like that?"

"That's _different_." Kurt cried.

"It is but it _isn't_. Love is sometimes about doing stuff you don't wanna do, but you're not supposed to look for an out." Burt responded. "Kurt, you are the one that took the relationship to the level you did when you asked him to leave Kentucky."

"A-Are you saying I should drop out?"

"No. I'm saying you need to think about the choices you made five years ago and you need to think about the positions you put him in before you start saying you're going to break up with this bo—with Blaine. Are you telling me you want to break up with Blaine?"

"I don't know." Kurt broke down in full out sobs. "I-I-It's like I c-can't breathe wh-when he's g-gone but i-it's worse n-now when h-h-he's here. I love him _so_ mu-much, Dad, b-but how m-much a-am I s-supposed to take?"

Burt wrapped an arm around Kurt, not knowing what to say. He thought Kurt was being overly dramatic, jumping the gun… but Kurt had been unhappy a long time. "Kurt, you've gotta talk to Blaine."

"I t-told him I wasn't h-happy for him." Kurt sobbed, shaking his head. "H-He doesn't want to talk."

"Why did you say that?"

"Because I'm _stupid_! Because I don't _think_! I'm v-very happy for everything that he's accomplished but I wish he h-hadn't gone. I f-feel like he d-did this to me. I know it's im-immature, dad. But I've tried the m-mature route and I just want it to stop h-hurting. I want to f-feel like I c-can breathe again."

"He didn't go to Harvard to do anything to you, Kurt. He wants to better himself, to do good things, and he thought he had your support."

"Which makes me a bad boyfriend for feelings this way, but I _do_ and it's out there now. I am mad he left. I t-thought I was getting a ri-ring and instead I found out he was freaking moving thirteen hours away and I n-never see him and h-half the time when I do, w-we fight and it's taking a t-t-toll! I hate t-thinking these things. It makes me f-feel like a horrible person but C-Carole told me t-that my h-happiness ma-mattered too, d-dad, and she's r-right!"

"You're happy with Blaine." Burt said very slowly, pulling back to look at Kurt. "You two have been through more than most couples, Kurt, and you don't wanna give that up. It's March, kid. In May you'll be moving to New York City and you'll live four hours away… that's a two hour drive to meet half way. That's only half an hour more than how it was when you kids lived in Cincinnati and drove to school. Why don't you two get an apartment half way?"

"I told Q-Quinn I'd m-move in with her. When I said I was going to New York early, dad, I didn't mean with Blaine." Kurt looked up at the ceiling, lip trembling and trying to get a hold of himself.

"What…?"

"I never asked Blaine because he didn't talk to me for more than a month after the fight in January, dad. Things were going downhill before that but after January, there's been one good moment for every ten bad ones." Kurt shuddered.

"Maybe if you two move in together…"

"It's past that, dad." Kurt interrupted.

"You two just need to spend more time together."

"We don't have the money to go back and forth. Blaine's had to take out loans for food and gas while he's at Harvard." Kurt wiped his face.

Burt rubbed his own face. "There's gotta be a way, Kurt. You've gotta work at it. It's Blaine."

"I worked at it for a month when I tried to call and he shut me out. I think I've felt this way s-since then. I worked so hard to get him to talk to me and when it did, it just went back to the same thing for the most part, and I realized that maybe this… isn't how it's meant to be for us. He's only called me first once in two weeks." Kurt wiped his eyes.

"He loves you."

"I know he loves me." Kurt sniffled. "I love him too."

"You can't do this to him, to _you_. " Burt said. "I don't want to get involved but you're making a real big mistake."

"What has he done to me, to him?" Kurt asked. "H-He's not been picture perfect either, dad. He's blown off more than one trip, cancelled phone calls…"

"I never thought I would get to see you happy, with a boyfriend. The minute he came into your life, it was like a whole new you. You were _happy_. I know things have been tough for you two. They've been tough for a while, Kurt. But you can't give up on him because… because you two have both given up a lot for each other. You can't just go back on it now when you all have made it so far. Blaine needs you and you need him." Burt said gently.

"I don't know what else to do. E-Everyone is moving on with their l-lives and I'm stuck in the same place. I want to move on too, dad. And I want to move on with Blaine. He knows I want to be with him, I want everything, and he… must not want it." Kurt pulled his knees to his chest.

"He wants it, kid. Why wouldn't he? He's stuck around this long. Hell, Blaine has been in more than one argument with me over your wellbeing. That doesn't sound like someone who doesn't want everything with you. I mean, I'd like to think of myself as a scary guy."

Kurt smiled a bit, although it was watery. "You two bumped heads a lot through that whole thing."

"Yeah well I regret that… I always have, going to your house and accusing him of that…" Burt admitted. "Look, Kurt… Don't do anything rash until you've got no other solution."

"What does that _mean_? I should just hold off on graduate school and live in Boston? Blaine won't let me do that."

"Can you promise me something?" Burt asked.

"I guess…"

"Tell Blaine everything you told me. Tell him you're really struggling with the distance; tell him everything… and then you two work on it. You two are good at working on things, it just takes you getting to a certain point to get it right… It seems like you're near rock bottom, so I think that point has come." Burt watched Kurt.

"I love him. I don't want to lose him, dad." Kurt looked down, closing his eyes tightly. He then nodded. "I-I'll talk to him over spring break. We can use the week to work on a plan."

Burt let out a sigh of relief and hugged Kurt again. "It's gonna be alright, kiddo. It won't be easy but you've gotta keep at it…"

Kurt nodded again.

"But, Kurt…" Burt added, his voice much more gentle. "Your happiness does matter and if it… if it comes down to that… I want you to know that you'll have my support, okay? Look, I love Blaine. But you're my son and all I want is for you to be happy."

"Thanks, dad." Kurt said, this time hugging Burt. He buried his face in Burt's shoulder, leaving it there for a long time and just thinking. His dad was right. Maybe he still had some fight left in him… Maybe he and Blaine could make it work. After all, he owed it to Blaine and to himself to try, didn't he?


	11. Chapter 11

There were only mere hours until Blaine had to head to Lima for Spring break, yet he found himself in Trident Booksellers and Cafe waiting for Adrian and their classmate, Ashleigh, to show up. He may or may not have come early because bookstore and spring break meant that he might actually have time to purchase a non -school related book and maybe actually read it. Besides, it had seemed pretty pointless to walk all the way home only to have to leave twenty minutes after he got there to come back to campus.

"Don't tell me you're going to read over spring break."

Blaine jumped a bit and turned to see Adrian.

"C'mon, dude. No way. Haven't you read enough? I feel like if I don't rest my eyes this week, I'll start puking words."

"You mean speaking?" Blaine asked sarcastically.

Adrian rolled his eyes. "So am I the only one who kind of..." He glanced around, making sure no one was in ear shot. "…Didn't want to come? It seems a little dumb for her to make it up to us more than a month later and I got the very distinct feeling it's mostly to get to know us better... and by us, I mean you."

Blaine arched his eyebrow.

"She stares at you."

"There are like three people who keep staring at me. I'm pretty sure they're trying to figure out if I'm gay or straight." Blaine rolled his eyes and put his book back on the bookshelf. Clearly he wasn't going to be able to look, but he could stay after they left and find one or two to buy.

"Are they all girls?" Adrian questioned.

"Ashleigh, Samantha, and Jordan."

"Jordan? Really?" Adrian looked surprised. "He must be gay."

"I don't know. He doesn't know who Marion Cotillard is." Blaine walked out of the bookstore portion of the building and into the cafe portion. "I thought he was gay too until I found that out."

"Who is Marion Cotillard?" Adrian asked.

"Ha." Blaine rolled his eyes. "I hope Ashleigh isn't late. I need to get home and get my things so I can go to the airport in two hours."

"Girls are always late." Adrian picked a table and sat down. "Are you excited to go home?"

"It'll be nice to see everybody." Blaine shrugged. Truth be told, he was extremely anxious to go to Lima. He and Kurt hadn't exactly had a fight, but it didn't make Blaine feel very... eager to spend seven whole days with him. Luckily he and Wes were flying out and back together. If it got to be too much, he would just go and hang out with Wes and David. "Are you going home?"

"And miss a chance to be accosted by my ex? I wouldn't be anywhere else." Adrian laughed a bit.

"Sounds like you're excited too." Blaine snorted.

"I'm not dreading it. I guess that comes with the territory of having exes who stay at home." This time Adrian shrugged. He then smiled and waved. "Hello, Ashleigh."

"Hey, Blaine! Hi, Adrian." Ashleigh, a pretty brunette girl with blue eyes said, sitting a tray with three drinks and three cookies down in the middle of the table.

Adrian kind of smirked at Blaine when Ashleigh was passing out the drinks.

"I just want to thank you two so much for switching mock trial dates. I really, really, really appreciate it. You two probably saved my grade." Ashleigh said, mainly looking at Blaine.

"It was no problem." Adrian chirped, seemingly amused that he had been right.

"Yeah." Blaine agreed, smiling but inwardly thinking, _Damn. She does have a crush on me._ "We're just glad that you're grandpa ended up being okay."

"How is he doing by the way?" Adrian asked.

"He's fine." Ashleigh said before turning to look at Blaine.

Blaine resisted the urge to throw his cookie at Adrian, who was now silently laughing into his cup. Luckily Ashleigh had no idea, seeing as she wouldn't take her eyes off of Blaine. Wes was going to find this amusing.

"So… what are your guys' plans for spring break?"

"I'm going to Ohio."

"To visit family?" Ashleigh asked.

"To visit my boyfriend actually." Blaine said slowly.

"Boyfriend?" Ashleigh coughed.

"Yes. We've dated since my senior year of high school. His junior year." Blaine said, smiling.

"Geeze. You two have been together a long time. I didn't know that." Adrian said. "Then again, you are thinking of proposing…"

"Wait, you're gay?" Ashleigh asked. "Really gay?"

"If there is a 'really' gay, then that would be me." Blaine laughed and then added quickly, "Don't ask me to go shopping with you."

"You would be surprised how many gay guys are in our classes alone." Adrian said. "And you would be especially surprised at some of the ones that have girlfriends."

"You know, he almost fooled me but then I saw him checking out the professor's… groin region." Blaine said, deciding maybe he shouldn't come out and say 'cock' so close to Harvard's campus.

"Not all of them." Adrian added. "But I'll tell you, in Criminal Justice I haven't found one guy I think is straight."

"It's weird though because there are so many more girls than usual in that class. Which sucks for those girls who think they can walk into a class and find a husband." Blaine rolled his eyes. "I've heard three girls talking about that in hallways this week. I mean I really hope that's not why they came here because if they're that dumb, they should just go to bars every night. It would be a lot cheaper and less stress inducing."

"There is nothing wrong with wanting to find someone while you're in school." Ashleigh protested.

"You're right, there isn't. But if that's why you're here and not to learn about law, it's kind of stupid." Blaine said.

"I don't think that's why they're here. But it might be nice to have someone who can relate to what you're going through." She argued.

"Going through? You signed up for it." Adrian huffed. "That kills me when people come here and are baffled when it's hard."

"And if they were studying the right way, they wouldn't have time to worry about finding someone. I mean I can barely find time to call my boyfriend who I've been with since I was seventeen. How on Earth do they have time to worry over finding someone and say they did, they're not going to have time for them to be in a real and healthy relationship." Blaine agreed. "It's not worth it."

"Boys just don't get it."

"Maybe we do. Maybe the way girls see it is just dumb." Adrian said.

"Not dumb." Blaine corrected. "Just wrong."

Ashleigh shook her head as Blaine began to chuckle at himself.

"I'm mostly kidding." He laughed.

"I'm not." Adrian grinned.

Ashleigh rolled her eyes, but smiled a bit. "Are you sure you two aren't dating each other?"

"Nah. He's too short for me." Adrian's grin grew. "He's got nice eyes, though."

"He does." Ashleigh nodded.

"Alright, well, on that note I have to go." Adrian said. "But thank you so much for getting me coffee and a cookie, but you really didn't have to. I was more than happy for help you out."

"I still really, really appreciate it." Ashleigh looked between both of them. "And this was kind of… well, it probably would have been nice if you weren't attacking women… At least you two are funny together. I see why you both do so well completing your projects. You two make a great team."

"We try." Blaine laughed.

"It's probably because you both have skewed views." Ashleigh grinned, gathering her stuff.

"Skewed, but you didn't say wrong." Blaine grinned back, standing. "Thanks again, Ashleigh. Bye."

Ashleigh left the café.

"Why does that happen to me?" Blaine hissed.

"I told you! I told you!" Adrian said.

"Do you think she hates us?" Blaine asked.

"Nah. She checked out your ass before she left." Adrian snorted. "'Not dumb, just wrong.' That was priceless."

"I'm beginning to see why all of my friends are guys. You know, I thought Kurt's best friend Rachel was just annoying but maybe I'm the problem." Blaine laughed.

"Nah." Adrian shook his head. "Ashleigh was just getting annoyed because she thought you and she would end up walking down the aisle in two point five years and she finds out that you're in a committed relationship, and then you go on about how you can't even find time for him, so she can't even try to turn you straight."

Blaine shook his head.

"I really do have to go, but have a good spring break. Are you going to propose over spring break?"

"I have the ring but I don't think I'm going to yet. I want to make it special." Blaine admitted. "I'm thinking I will this summer or maybe after he graduates… I don't know."

"You'll come up with the perfect way." Adrian reassured him.

"Have a good spring break." Blaine smiled.

"You too. Again, I already said that. Call me when you're back and we'll meet up and go running or you know bashing women together." Adrian waved and then left.

Blaine laughed to himself as he wandered back over to the book section. He probably should have felt bad but he was way too amused for that.

…

Kurt strolled into a restaurant near his internship on the last day of classes, looking down at his watch. He had five hours before Blaine's flight landed, meaning he had roughly three and a half hours to kill.

"Hey, Kurt!" Alec said happily, coming up behind him. "How was the internship?"

"It was good. How was yours?" Kurt asked, taking a seat at an empty table.

"Long." Alec sighed, placing his stuff on an empty chair and sitting down as well. "How are you doing outside of school?"

"Are you asking Blaine wise?" Kurt questioned, pulling his cell phone out and placing it in front of him just in case something happened and Blaine needed him. Although at this point, any phone call would only be a frantic 'Something came up, I can't come, so so sorry' though so Kurt wasn't sure why he even wanted to leave it out. One more rejection and…

Kurt pushed the thought away.

"Well you never exactly told me what happened when he came to visit you, so I can only assume it wasn't… good." Alec admitted and then smiled when a waitress came up. "Can we both get slices of cheesecake, please? I want blueberry."

"And can mine be strawberry?" Kurt asked, smiling as well although it didn't meet his eyes.

"Sure thing." The waitress smiled and left them alone.

"Although," Alec continued. "I don't see how it could have been bad considering he surprised you by showing up and spending a day with you. That's so sweet. Eric never does stuff like that for me… At least, not much."

"I didn't tell you how it went because I was an idiot." Kurt sighed. "I mean, it went great until the end."

"What happened in the end? Walk me through it." Alec said, mentally preparing himself.

"Well when it was time to take him to the airport I got really depressed."

"Why?" Alec asked.

"What do you mean, why?"

"He spent all that money to buy a ticket to see you for one day. Do you know how much money that probably cost him?" Alec questioned.

"At the time I didn't see it that way." Kurt bit his lip. "It kind of gets worse. He told me to not act distant when we got to the airport, that we needed to make the best of our last few minutes."

"Which you should have." Alec nodded.

"Well I couldn't, okay? I told him that it was hard for me to not get distant when he's about to leave because he's always leaving… And then he said that when I am distant with him, it's like I'm punishing him. I'm not punishing him but it's his fault. He did this to us. He turned us into this. So I told him that he is the one that did it, not me."

"What do you think he did exactly?" Alec asked slowly.

"He turned us into this mess. If he weren't at Harvard, we would be living together and we wouldn't be going through all of this." Kurt attempted to explain.

Alec cringed. "No, Kurt. You didn't say that to him."

"I did and it's true. Harvard had never been in the plan. He thinks he can just take me to a nice dinner like he's going to propose and then announce he's going to move thirteen hours away and I'm supposed to be happy?" Kurt exclaimed.

"First of all, Kurt, you have got to let that go. He didn't know what you thought, okay? And he probably still doesn't. It's not fair to harbor resentment over that." Alec responded.

"I never said I was proud of it." Kurt frowned. "I just find it hard to be happy that he's showing up again only to leave again when we're supposed to be together."

"Going back to before… You're not supposed to be happy he's thirteen hours away. Shouldn't you be happy that he worked his butt off to get into a law school and that he got into the top one in the country? What you said… might kind of seem like him saying he wasn't happy you got into Parsons." Alec responded, voice gentle and non-accusatory. "Kurt… you didn't tell him that you weren't happy, did you?"

"I did. He asked me and I was honest. Then he just left. He wouldn't let me apologize or justify myself. And it's not even that I did anything wrong. I told the truth, how I felt, which is something we never do." Kurt ranted. "And he just walks off and gets on the freaking plane!"

"Well… how did you expect him to react? How would you have reacted? Do you blame him for that?" Alec asked.

"It's like you're taking his side." Kurt scoffed. "I'm always painted the immature one. Nobody cares that my heart is literally being ripped apart every day. Do you know how hard it is to be away from him?"

"When you said that to him, Kurt, did you think about what it meant?" Alec asked gently. "Telling him you weren't happy he left?"

"No."

"Because you were thinking only of yourself." Alec sighed. "You can't be so selfish when it comes to things like this. You can say the truth without hurting feelings or placing blame on a certain person. You're making the situation harder than it has to be and you probably really hurt his feelings. You miss him? Of course you do. It's understandable. Go out, do something else, finish your work earlier than you would have. Don't say things you know will hurt him when he came all this way to surprise you. Kurt, that was so sweet. What he did was so sweet."

"It's a little late for him to start being sweet."

"Maybe you shouldn't spend so much time worrying about what isn't happening and worry about what is." Alec said.

Kurt stared ahead for several seconds before tears filled his eyes. "It's t-too late."

"Too late for what?" Alec asked, raising his eyebrow but scooting closer.

"I-It's too late to worry about what is happening b-because I can't do it again." Kurt took several deep breaths.

"Wait, what?" Alec gasped.

"I c-c-can't handle it. I t-tried b-but I'm sick of h-hurting and h-hurting him b-because I'm h-hurting. I-I know I s-shouldn't have said it. I kn-knew then. A-And I f-feel horrible but I c-can't even a-apologize."

"Why?"

"Talking to him hurts. H-He's so beautiful and I l-love him so m-much but being w-with him is k-killing me. I just w-want to be h-happy and my h-happiness matters too. H-He'll be okay. H-He has his f-friends. H-He's smart. H-He'll find someone b-better." Kurt broke down in sobs as Alec pulled him into a hug. "I c-can't. I c-c-can't."

"Shh, calm down. Shh." Alec rocked him. "It's okay, Kurt. It's okay. Don't… Don't make any rash decisions."

"T-This isn't r-rash. I-I've debated since J-January. The fight." Kurt cried, clutching Alec's shirt in his hand tightly. "A-And dad tried to talk me out of it. I t-told him I'd t-talk to Blaine but I don't see anything g-getting better."

"Kurt, you have to talk to him."

"It hurts. I can't. It hurts too much. I can't do it. I can't." Kurt shook his head quickly. "I can't go to one more airport or say goodbye or have one more unanswered call or another goodbye kiss or another fight or… any. I just can't."

"Kurt, Kurt, Kurt, stop it. Stop."

"I don't know what to do." Kurt sobbed. "I l-love him. I l-love him and w-want to be w-with him but I c-can't handle it anymore. I d-don't want to ask h-him to leave H-Harvard b-but I can't handle the d-distance."

"It's hard but you can do it." Alec promised.

"No." Kurt said, voice firm. "I have d-done as much as I can. I'm past it. I can't. I can't do it. I can't."

Alec frowned and pulled Kurt in for another hug. "You're right. Your happiness matters and you have to do what's right for you… I'm so sorry, Kurt. I really am."

"M-Me too." Kurt cried into his chest, wanting nothing more than to go back to when he was sixteen and never, ever step foot in Dalton Academy. "Me too."

"Oh, Kurt, what's wrong?"

Kurt tensed, sitting up and seeing Derek. "N-Nothing."

"I couldn't help but overhear…" Derek said, taking a seat on Kurt's other side. "You know, it's probably for the best. Leaving him. You need someone close, someone who can fulfill your needs."

"Why don't you mind your own fucking business?" Kurt snarled, surprising himself. He wasn't sure what he was angrier about—the fact that someone apart from Alec saw him break down or that the someone in particular was Derek, who had really sent things spiraling down.

"I know you're going through a hard time, Kurt. Break ups are rough. Don't take it out on me."

"Take it out on you?" Kurt stood, wiping his eyes. "If it weren't for you saying what you did to Blaine, we never would have gotten into the fight that never really went away. How dare you listen in on my private conversation and think you can come over here and put your two cents in like you aren't happy, like you think I don't know why you want us to break up!"

Alec stood quickly. "Derek, it's not the best time."

"What did I do wrong?" Derek asked, watching Kurt with a look of sympathy on his face.

"Just go." Alec said, voice snappier than Derek or Kurt had ever heard it before. "It's not the best time for you to be around."

"It's not my fault that Kurt's boyfriend is sensitive."

Kurt moved forward, hand rising.

"Come on." Alex grabbed Kurt. "We're going."

Kurt snatched his bag off of his chair, resisting the urge to knock Derek's perfect teeth out of his head.

"Kurt, calm down." Alec said.

"It's not his business!" Kurt exclaimed.

"You're right." Alec agreed, taking Kurt to his car. "So don't worry about it."

"How am I supposed to do this?" Kurt asked, throwing his door open. "How do I break up with Blaine?"

"You don't. You talk to him, you hear what he has to say." Alec said. "You put everything on the table. You let him do the same. Then you two talk about it and come up with a decision—make up, break up, whatever. Do what's best for you but you… you have to make sure to make the right decision because you won't be able to go back from a break up. Ever."

"Yeah." Kurt got into his car.

"Kurt… It'll be okay. I'm here for you." Alec said, grabbing the door before he could close it. "Call me if you need anything, okay? Anytime."

Kurt forced a smile when Alec gave his hand a squeeze. "Thanks."

"Let me know how it goes." Alec squeezed his hand again and then backed away from the door, waving. "Bye."

"Bye." Kurt said, starting his car and pulling out after making sure Alec got safely into his car and that it had started.

This was going to be a long vacation.

…

"Hey, gorgeous."

Kurt, who had just walked into the airport, jumped and turned around. "Blaine?"

"My flight landed early." Blaine grinned, dropping his bag and throwing his arms around Kurt. "Hello."

"Hi." Kurt smiled a bit and wrapped his arms around Blaine, closing his eyes and taking in Blaine's scent.

"I missed you." Blaine mumbled into his hair and Kurt felt a kiss on the back of his neck.

"I always miss you." Kurt responded, feeling his stomach tie up in knots.

"I love you so much." Blaine pulled back and then kissed his forehead. "You okay?"

"Not really."

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked, looking concerned.

"Can we talk at home?" Kurt asked.

"Is everyone okay?"

"Everyone is fine." Kurt bent to kiss his cheek and then forced a smile.

"We'll talk as soon as we get home?" Blaine questioned.

"Yeah. That's probably best." Kurt took a deep breath and walked out to his car. "How was lunch with Adrian and that one girl?"

"I think I've realized that I probably shouldn't be allowed to talk to girls my own age. I'm pretty sure Ashleigh thinks I'm a douche." Blaine admitted.

"I find it hard to believe anybody would think that of you." Kurt said, feeling a rush go through him when Blaine grabbed his hand and kissed him. "Oh."

"Oh?" Blaine asked, laughing.

"Oh." Kurt leaned against the car, pulling Blaine close and kissing him again, hard.

"Kurt," Blaine pulled back. "Are we okay after the airport thing?"

"We'll talk about it later." Kurt said, pulling Blaine back to him again. "Now I just want to kiss you."

Blaine put his hands on Kurt's hips, kissing him back eagerly. "Okay."

Kurt moved forward, opening the back door.

"Really?"

"Yeah, maybe not." Kurt looked in his back seat, which had all kinds of school stuff in it.

"There's also the fact that there are some security guards over there eyeballing us." Blaine nudged his head to the left.

"I hate this state." Kurt huffed, moving out of the way so Blaine could set down his bags.

Blaine kissed his cheek before putting his bags in the back seat.

"Are you hungry?"

"No. I had lunch and then coffee before the plane." Blaine said.

…

Kurt closed the bedroom door after they got back from dinner out with the family, looking at Blaine's bags neatly sitting on the floor. He may have hated those bags more than airports. But right now he didn't hate anything more than himself.

"We need to talk." Kurt said.

"Let's talk." Blaine sat Indian style on the edge of the bed.

"Okay." Kurt let out a deep breath and sat at his desk chair, moving it across from Blaine and praying that this went well... praying that Blaine and he could work through their problems, make it work. It _had_ to go well, it had to work.

"Kurt..." Blaine said slowly, looking at him with big hazel eyes. "I just... Okay, about the airport. I know we talked about it but it doesn't feel resolved."

"Nothing is ever resolved."

Blaine looked down at his hands and then back up at Kurt.

"Everything is pushed aside. It's always been pushed aside, but eventually it comes out and we fight and then we make it but you're so far away that it never gets to that point and I don't even know how to talk to you right now." Kurt said quickly. "I feel like I can't even breathe when you're gone because I miss you so much but when you're here..." He threw his hands in the air. "We fight and you leave and it makes it that much worse because then there is one more unresolved issue on our freaking mountain."

"I try to talk about stuff."

"No. You do what you always do. You shut me out and then I feel guilty, like I'm the one who caused everything. I shouldn't feel that way, though, because sometimes I'm _not_ the one who causes it. Or I'll do something small and you just blow it way out of proportion that I just…" Kurt felt tears fill his eyes as he rambled.

"Kurt..."

"I want to talk things through because if we don't now... Then I..."

"Then what?"

"Then I don't know how we can work." Kurt's lip began to tremble.

"What?" Blaine asked, going pale. "What do you mean, you don't know how we can work? What are you talking about?"

"I need to tell you that... that I'm at my wits end."

"Wits end? I thought we were upset over small things."

"The small things have added up... and we can't seem to... fix them. And you're so far away and I just... If we're having these problems, and I'm struggling with the distance... and I should have told you I wasn't happy you were leaving, I should have voiced my opinion so we could work through it..."

"Yeah! You should have. You can't just sit me down and tell me you're at your— how did you say it? Wits end— over something I had no idea was an issue, and apparently is still in issue." Blaine's stomach knotted up and he stood, taking a deep breath. "I feel sick."

Kurt wiped his eyes. "Me too."

"So what? Is this going to be an ultimatum? Leave Harvard or you're done?" Blaine asked.

"No. I would never ask you to leave Harvard..." Kurt said, keeping his voice steady despite the fact that he was crying.

"Then what? I don't have money to come up more, Kurt. And you don't have money either. What am I supposed to do?"

"Maybe the distance wouldn't be so bad if we weren't fighting a lot." Kurt sniffled.

"Maybe we wouldn't be fighting so much if you didn't resent me for leaving!"

"Blaine, don't yell. Everybody is downstairs." Kurt pleaded.

"What then?"

"I miss you so much." Kurt let out a sob.

Blaine made his way over, bending and wrapping his arms around Kurt.

"I'm sad all of the time." Kurt cried, arms going around Blaine's waist as he sat. "I d-don't know what to d-do."

"We'll figure something out. Shh. Calm down and we'll figure it out together." Blaine whispered, stroking Kurt's hair.

Kurt began to cry louder, arms tightening around Blaine.

Blaine swallowed a lump in his throat and rubbed his hand up and down Kurt's back until he calmed down. "What do we need to do to fix this?"

"I don't know if it can be fixed." Kurt wiped his eyes and looked up at Blaine, who was standing by him with a hand on Kurt's shoulder.

"How does something get so bad that we can't fix it and I'm just finding out about it now?" Blaine asked, letting out a hollow laugh. "I can't work on something if you don't tell me what needs work, and what I need to do to make this work for both of us. And then to just be cornered...Over something I have no control over… How is that fair?"

"It's just too much to h-handle anymore." Kurt sniffled, making eye contact. "The missed calls, cancelled trips, distance..."

"I understand that it's hard but I'm not doing it to blow you off. I'm at Harvard. It's hard work, Kurt. Sometimes assignments come up out of nowhere, sometimes I just have too much work to get done that I don't have time..."

"For me."

"Yes." Blaine looked pained. "Sometimes I don't have time for you at the moment but I don't even have time for _myself_. Half the time I can't do my laundry, or I won't sleep for three days, or I don't have time to eat two let alone three meals a day. And let's play fair here. There are times I've been able to talk and you haven't. You've been busy with school too, Kurt... Getting ready for the senior fashion show, interning... Hell, you pick Melody up three or four days a week. I'm not the only one busy so don't paint it that way."

"So how come you're handling it better than me if that's the case?"

"Handling it better, Kurt? I'm not handling anything any better than you! I want to be with you every single day. It sucks that I can't see you or talk to you every minute I'm not at school. I miss _everything_ from before. I miss being able to do homework together in bed or on the couch with Kreacher bouncing all over us, and driving the hour and a half to Lima once a week to see your family so we just had that time to talk about everything and nothing and just _be_. I miss it all and the fact that you think I'm just handling it better is infuriating. Just because I don't cry in front of you doesn't mean I don't cry! You don't know how many bad days I get upset and cry myself to sleep because I can't have a hug or a kiss! But because I don't do it in front of you doesn't mean I'm handling it better!"

"Why can't you _talk_ to me about these things? If you would talk, if we could communicate—."

"Quit pinning it on me! You have nerve considering I'm not the only one with communication issues. Why didn't _you_ talk to _me?"_

"You shut me out! You didn't talk to me for a month!"

"I am sorry. I am oh so very sorry for everything I have ever done wrong but don't bring it back up. That's not fair."

"Well everyone sure keeps bringing up my mistakes from the past."

"Like who?"

"My dad for one. I told him we were having issues and—"

Blaine let out a scoff. "Your dad knew about our issues before me? Since when?"

"Since after you came. That's when I talked to him." Kurt looked down.

"And Carole?"

"She doesn't know I'm this upset. I quit talking to her about it so much because she's close to you."

"So everybody knows about my relationship problems except me?" Blaine asked, voice rising. "How is that fair?"

"Maybe if you were here..."

"Grow up."

Kurt flinched.

"Me not knowing about your problems with me is not my fault because I'm not here. You sure don't have a problem texting me over other stuff, but important stuff? You don't think to bring up the fact that you're 'at your wits end'?" Blaine questioned. "Are you breaking up with me? Is that what this talk is?"

"I don't want it to be that." Kurt began to cry.

"But is it?" Blaine asked.

"No." Kurt shook his head, covering his mouth. "I-I want to f-fix it b-before it c-comes to that."

"Why did you not bring it up before?"

"Well between all of our other fights, where was I supposed to fit it in?"

Blaine let out another hollow laugh and began pacing.

"This is h-hard."

"What? Talking to me, the distance, being around me, what?" Blaine asked.

"All of it!"

"Then why are we here?"

"We love each other." Kurt sniffed.

"You were supposed to know this would be hard." Blaine said. "I did. Why do you think we freaking read those two books about making long distance work?"

"Well we didn't exactly stick to what it said, did we?" Kurt asked sarcastically.

"Fine. Why is talking to me right now hard? Why was talking to me weeks ago when you started feeling this way hard?"

"I have felt this way since January."

Blaine looked as though he had been kicked in the stomach. "Why couldn't you tell me?"

"I feel selfish... feeling this way when you're t-trying to make your d-dreams come true."

"My dream doesn't include you in Lima, Ohio crying and feeling this way because of me!" Blaine exclaimed. "That's why we talk, so we can fix it."

"I feel bad! You have done so much for me and I should be able to- to handle this but I d-don't know i-if I can anymore. I don't want to be s-selfish but I miss you so much. How am I supposed to look you in the face and s-say that this is... tearing me up inside?"

"It's not supposed to be easy, but neither is love or life or anything. If it was easy, it wouldn't be worth it!" Blaine exclaimed. "What we get out of this long distance will be worth what we're going through now, Kurt. It's hard but it will make us value what we have more."

"Maybe I can't see it that way." Kurt cried. "I have a hard time doing anything apart from school because all I can think about is how far away you are."

"Then keep yourself busy so you can't." Blaine said. "The first three weeks we were apart I felt like that but I started meeting people, doing things... and it helps. If I just sat in my apartment and stared at my textbooks all day, I'd probably feel just as sad as you do."

"This is more about us than me."

"No. It's not. Because everything you're saying to me goes back to you not being able to handle the distance. Kurt, I can try to get in extra time with you. I can try to get a job and save money to see you but then my grades are going to fall. I can try to stay up an hour later to talk to you but I'm already going on like five hours of sleep a night. I don't know what else I can do with what I have."

"And that's a problem." Kurt wiped his eyes. "Because there is nothing else I can do either."

"So what do you want to do then? Revisit every fight we've had?" Blaine asked.

"I don't know. I just don't want to lose you." Kurt took a deep breath. "I don't know what to do."

Blaine took a deep breath also. "I'm going to say this the best way that I know how."

Kurt watched him.

"You are the one with the problem here." Blaine said slowly. "I'm not saying this is your fault and not mine. I'm just saying that me... I had no idea you even felt this way until ten minutes ago. You are the only one that knows what you need to feel better. I can't read your mind and know what to do. So until you tell me what you need from me… there's no way I'll be able to fix it. But I love you and I'd do anything to not lose you… so when you figure it out… you should let me know. We can work on the fights, we can work on whatever we need to…"

Kurt nodded.

"I need to go for a walk or something. Just give me fifteen minutes." Blaine left the room, closing it quietly behind him. He took fifteen steps and then sat in the hallway, beginning to cry.

***LTC***

"You're up early."

Blaine looked up from his coffee the next morning when Carole walked in, still in her pajamas.

"I don't know if I ever actually fell asleep." Blaine said, voice emotionless.

"Did you and Kurt talk?" She asked.

"About problems everyone but me knew? Yeah." Blaine sighed and pushed his cup away as Carole sat by him. "I don't even know how to feel right now... I feel like we're..." he trailed off and shook his head.

"I take it the talk didn't go well?"

"Not particularly." Blaine let out a snort and rubbed his face. "Do you know that when I came the other week... I asked Burt for permission to marry him?"

Carole's eyes widened. "I didn't."

"Well I did and now I don't even know if Kurt wants to work on us." Blaine sighed. "I just... I don't know what to do, Carole."

"What did he ask you to do?"

"I don't even think he asked anything. It was more him telling me he couldn't handle it... I think h-he's gonna..." Blaine bit his lip hard, willing tears to not come. "B-Break up... w-with..."

Carole leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him. "Oh, hon, I'm sure he just wants to work on things."

"H-He said he didn't think o-our problems can be f-fixed." Blaine said. "It's like he wants us to fall apart instead of working on it... But I don't want to fall apart, I want to fix it, and h-he won't tell me how... So how am I supposed to think he even wants to be in this relationship anymore? And if he doesn't, wh-who the hell am I to k-keep him here?"

"Blaine, I know he wants to be in the relationship. He's missed you so much... to the point where I'm a little worried for him." Carole hugged him tightly. "I think you two need to figure something out, but I don't think he wants to break up."

"You didn't hear him last night." Blaine stood and took a deep breath as Burt came in.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing." Blaine said, leaving the room, hearing Carole whisper that he and Kurt had had a talk the night before and that she didn't think it had gone well.

Which, in Blaine's opinion, was the understatement of the century.

...

"What are we going to do?"

Kurt, who had barely sat up later that same morning, looked at Blaine.

"We've had this awkward tension for two days. It is things like this that are making things fester and causing these problems so I want to know what we plan to do to fix it." Blaine said.

Kurt rubbed his eyes, blinking a few times before taking a deep breath.

"If I leave Sunday and we're like this... I don't think we'll..." Blaine looked at the ceiling. "I don't think we'll make it. So please. What are we going to do?"

"I don't know." Kurt frowned. "I don't know what to do."

"We have to come up with something." Blaine commented, voice firm. "There is always an out and a solution. I want to find the solution and... I hope you do too."

"Of course I want to find a solution, Blaine. I love you." Kurt watched him carefully. "This is just so hard and I... I needed you to know I'm struggling. I want to fix it but I honestly don't know how."

Blaine sat on the edge of the bed. "Kurt, I can't say it any other way apart from I am sorry you feel like I shut you out or that you feel like we aren't in a real relationship. I keep thinking of what is the 'right' thing to say and I just... can't come up with anything. I want to find that perfect fix all response to what you said to me but..." he trailed off.

"I don't know why I feel this way. I'm so sad... all of the time. And you come around and I'm so happy, and then I'm so sad... Maybe it's just me..." Kurt trailed off himself, swallowing. He then sat up a little straighter. "I love you so much. I want it to work more than anything, I do. But I feel stuck in a rut with no way out. Even when I'm happy, I know in a few hours or days... that it will all go away. And I feel horrible for not being happy you're off at Harvard. It's selfish to want you to myself, I know you need to do this... and I don't know why I can't just be happy, but all I can do is miss you. But you're just away with your best friend, meeting new people, doing new things, being independent and it's like... I miss last year. Last year was such a good year."

Blaine watched Kurt carefully, hating how he frowned and swallowed hard. He nudged Kurt, attempting a smile. "Last year was a good year, Kurt. You're right... but this... when you're done in Parsons, I'll be done with Harvard, and then we're going to have so many years together. We'll live together and there will be more happy years... and you can't just think of this as bad. It's a good thing, Kurt. You need to go to New York on your own. It's... your destiny. It always has been."

"What if that's not my destiny anymore?"

"You need to stop and listen to yourself." Blaine said gently. "You love CCAD. Your grades are amazing, you're at the top in your classes with the exception of one, you are on a partial scholarship to Parsons, you have people offering you internships once you get up there. How are you telling me that this isn't your destiny?"

"It's hard without you."

"It's hard without you too. I'm not just partying it up in Boston, Kurt. I miss you every single day. Some days if I'm upset and can't talk to you because you're in class or want to hug you because you're so far away... sometimes I get really sad too. With or without Wes there. I feel really alone sometimes. I'm trying to make friends and meet people and do new things and keep busy... if I wasn't keeping busy, I'd be so much worse off." Blaine watched Kurt carefully.

"I stay busy with the internship and school and Melody."

"But what do you do when you're not working or watching her?" Blaine asked.

"Get really sad." Kurt swallowed hard again, blinking rapidly.

Blaine reached over, grasping Kurt's hand. "You should hang out with Alec more."

"We try to but it's hard when I only have such a limited time before I have to go and get Melody. Or when I have some big assignment due." Kurt looked down. "And a lot of the time I think, 'Is this worth it, being away from Blaine?'"

Blaine opened his mouth.

"What happens when we graduate?" Kurt demanded. "Where do we go? You don't want to live in a big city and I would be pretty limited to New York and California... the two places you don't want to live the most."

"We'll figure it out."

"Why didn't we figure it out before?" Kurt stood.

"Because it's going to work out. Sometimes you can't plan, Kurt. Sometimes you have to just trust that everything will be okay." Blaine said gently.

"And if everything isn't okay?"

"Then there's more work to do, but it's not hopeless." Blaine looked away. "I never once thought it wouldn't work out. I've never once wondered if we'd make it. To me, there isn't an option but to make it and... be happy with everything. Kids, family, dream jobs... I would rather suffer a little bit now and have _amazing_ things later. And I'm not just talking Harvard. I'm talking this, right here, right now. Working on us to make sure..."

Kurt swallowed again and nodded. "Don't you worry?"

"About getting a job right now? And an internship? And money for food and rent? Yes. In the future about getting a job, finding a perfect house with a yard? Yes. But about whether or not you and I will be okay? Never." Blaine said confidently.

"That makes me feel even worse." Kurt pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face in them, hand still gripping Blaine's.

Blaine leaned over him, kissing the back of his neck. "Why?"

"It feels so hopeless." Kurt mumbled.

"It's not hopeless." Blaine promised. "We will never be hopeless."

Kurt nodded his head, still not looking up.

"I can't wait to see how our lives turn out. I really can't." Blaine swallowed. "My life has been pretty shitty and then you came along and... I can't picture it without you. I don't want to."

Kurt looked up and into his eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too." Blaine smiled, still somewhat anxiously.

Kurt leaned over, pressing a quick kiss to his lips

"Do you feel better?"

"I don't know. Sometimes I'll think I do and then I feel ten times worse when I'm alone again." Kurt admitted.

"Well, we'll have to try to fix that."

"I've been trying." Kurt frowned.

"That's why we will try to work on it together." Blaine smiled and squeezed Kurt's knee, similar to how he had squeezed his leg in the common room all those years ago at Dalton when he had been afraid Pavarotti was going to die. Kurt chose to not dwell on the fact that he had been right, Pavarotti had ended up dying, and that he was afraid their relationship might die too. He was already sad enough without searching for parallels.

Kurt forced a smile, just like the smile he had forced back then when he wanted to do anything but smile.

"Kurt, it's going to be okay." Blaine promised.

Kurt didn't respond, just leaned against Blaine and took in a deep breath.

***LTC***

"If there is one thing worse than reading about boring trials, it's reading about even more boring mistrials." Blaine complained two more days later when Kurt came into the kitchen.

"We got something in the mail." Kurt sighed, holding out an opened envelope.

"We just a letter, we just got a letter, we just got a-." Blaine trailed off when Kurt didn't even crack a smile. "Come on, that was funny. The situation practically begged for it."

Kurt rolled his eyes but at least forced a smile... but it was a fine line between smile and grimace, which is what it turned into when Blaine pulled out the card.

"Invitation to Finn and Rachel's wedding." Blaine said. "Hey, did you know that one of the Warblers got married last weekend? He was a freshman when you were there. The redhead?"

Kurt made a noise in the back of his throat but didn't speak.

"Isn't Labor Day weekend a kind of odd time to have a wedding?" Blaine asked, confused. "And is it really in New York?"

"Rachel is hoping people will travel to see the wedding if it's on a three day weekend." Kurt sighed. "At this rate, Mercedes will get married before me and she basically started her relationship online."

"First, that is more than a little offensive. Second, I can assure you David is nowhere near proposing." Blaine retorted.

"Why is he nowhere near proposing?" Kurt asked defensively.

"I don't know details but it sounds like they're starting to get on each other's nerves. I don't ask him about them and he doesn't ask me about us."

Kurt scowled.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Blaine asked.

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong." Kurt sighed.

"Kurt, come on. We agreed to talk about things so they don't fester."

"Rachel is getting married." Kurt said. "Rachel and Finn are getting married. Rachel still wears cat sweaters and Finn can't use a microwave and they're getting married."

Blaine laughed a bit. "It's pretty funny."

"It's not funny. It's pathetic that they are married and I..."

Blaine's smile faded.

"I can't do this right now." Kurt stood, pushed his chair in, and stormed upstairs.

Blaine got up, following him into his room. "Kurt, I didn't mean to upset you by laughing."

"You don't get it. You really don't get it." Kurt said from his desk, sitting his phone down much harder than necessary.

"What? What don't I get?" Blaine asked.

"I don't know why we even bother! You can't even get up the nerve to propose!"

Blaine stepped back as if he'd been punched in the stomach. "What?"

"It's been five years!" Kurt exclaimed. "It's been five years and we are such a poor excuse of a couple!"

"What?" Blaine asked, his blood running cold.

"We never talk. We never see each other. When we do, we fight. I'm tired of feeling like this and getting nothing in return."

"N-Nothing in return?" Blaine's voice rose. "Excuse you?"

"I can't."

"You can't what Kurt?"

"I can't do it anymore! I can't do this day in and day out for the rest of my life! Waiting around for you, crying myself to sleep every single night, hating myself for the way I feel and the things I think!" Kurt exclaimed.

"You can't do it anymore? What is it?" Blaine asked, tears stinging his eyes.

"Us! You can't even commit to me and I'm sitting here doing this to myself? I'm such an idiot!"

"No!" Blaine cried, bending down and fishing something out of his bag. "I can't commit, Kurt? I can't commit?"

"No!"

"THEN WHY DID I GO OUT AND TAKE OUT YET ANOTHER LOAN FOR AN ENGAGEMENT RING WHEN YOU CAN'T EVEN COMMIT TO DATING ME UNTIL I GRADUATE LAW SCHOOL?" Blaine shouted, tossing a blue box in Kurt's direction. "BUT I CAN'T COMMIT!"

Kurt stared, mouth hanging open.

"Nothing in return?" Blaine asked, voice cracking. "I don't know what else I could have given."

"Blaine, we aren't working."

"Great." Blaine let out something between a laugh and a sob, dialing on his phone. He recited Kurt's address and then hung up. "Don't worry about us working anymore. You don't have to cry over not seeing me anymore, Kurt, because I will never see you again!"

"This isn't only my fault!" Kurt yelled.

"Oh? Do y-you see me b-breaking up with y-you?" Blaine demanded. "I can't bel-believe…"

Kurt turned around, facing the wall.

Blaine tossed his things into his bag, pleading with himself to not cry. Not until he was away from Kurt. He needed to get away from Kurt.

How was he supposed to move when his life was shattering?

"You can't tell me you haven't thought of it!"

"No because some of us don't always look for an out when things aren't easy!" Blaine exclaimed. "If you would spend half as much time seeing us for what we are that you do, wishing we were picture perfect, m-maybe you could get your h-head out of t-the clouds and r-realize you had s-something _good_!"

"Maybe last year it was good but Blaine… nothing has been good about this last year. I feel like I can't even _breathe_ , I can't sleep, I am so upset all of the time." Kurt said, struggling to not cry. "I love you, I do."

"If you loved me a fraction as much as I love you, Kurt, y-you w-wouldn't be d-doing this." Blaine said, lip trembling. "You don't love me. The only person you love is yourself."

"That's not true, Blaine."

Blaine turned, rushing out of Kurt's bedroom and the house.

"Wait!" Kurt yelled, stumbling down the stairs. "Blaine, wait!"

He heard a car, his stomach feeling as though it fell to his feet.

_No, no, no, no_.

He threw the door open, running out onto the porch, looking for Blaine. He was gone.

Kurt slid down on the porch steps, taking several deep breaths.

What had he done?

Had he really just broken up with Blaine?

Why did everything around him suck lately?

…

Blaine didn't care that he looked pathetic, could barely see, and that his face was sticky with tears. He had thought maybe the half hour ride to the airport would clear his mind, would help him feel like everything would be okay, but instead it had had the opposite effect. Instead, he just wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"I n-need a ticket to Boston." He sniffled after waiting in a fifteen minute line, pulling out his ID and his credit card, making a mental note to call Alex and explain why he was using the emergency credit card.

"The next flight is in eight hours." The woman behind the desk said, cheery smile not leaving her face despite the fact that Blaine looked (and felt) like his world was ending.

"Fine." Blaine pushed the cards forward, wiping his eyes and taking a steadying breath. If he could make it through the line, get his tickets, find some food…

Like he could eat right now.

It was hard to breathe, but he couldn't have a nervous breakdown in a line in the middle of the airport in front of hundreds of strangers. He wasn't that pathetic. Then again, he thought, maybe he was. He wasn't sure what he knew anymore because apparently the last six years of his life had been a freaking lie.

What was he doing?

Why was he at the airport? Going to an empty house in Boston for three more days? That spelled disaster.

"Is the amount okay?" The woman prompted, looking annoyed at this point.

"Uh… never mind." Blaine sniffled, pulling his ID and credit card back before getting out of the line.

"You can't just do that!" she called after him.

He went down a hallway, setting his stuff down on the floor and pulling out his phone.

Wes.

He had to call Wes.

David would probably handle it better, but he couldn't deal with an "I told you so." Not right then, not when… when Kurt…

He couldn't think about it.

His battery was low.

He'd meant to charge it last night, he had, but then he and Kurt had gotten Melody ready for bed and…

Melody.

He hadn't even said goodbye.

Kurt and he had been the only ones home, but shouldn't he have left a note? Something?

Saying what exactly? 'You were like my little sister. Sorry you'll never see me again. I love you.'?

And Carole. He was close to her. Maybe too close for just being her stepson's boyfriend, but he loved Carole and Burt too.

They were like his family.

He felt like he had just lost his family.

No. He couldn't think about it. He just needed Wes.

"Hello?" Wes said after five rings.

"W-W-Wes, I-Iairportleasegemme." Blaine said, beginning to sob. He really was pathetic.

"Blaine, Blaine, calm down, I can't understand you. Blaine…" Wes said loudly over Blaine's sobs and gasping. "Blaine, what's wrong?"

Blaine took a deep breath, trying to calm himself enough to speak to where Wes could understand. "H-H-He—W-we—I—I'm at the a-airport a-and—."

"But you were in Lima with Kurt. What's going on?"

"C-C-Can y-you c-come and g-get me? W-Wes, I n-need… I… oh my God." Blaine dissolved into more tears, no longer able to even speak.

"Blaine, are you at the Lima airport? Did you just say you were at the airport?" Wes asked loudly.

Blaine could hear people in the background asking hurried questions. Of course. Wes wasn't being particularly quiet and Wes was surrounded by family. Everybody but him got to spend school breaks with family and Blaine was here, single, alone, and in an airport. This was just something else he ruined for himself.

"Why are you at the airport? What's going on? Are you okay?" Wes questioned, utterly confused.

"I almost g-g-got a ticket t-to Boston." Blaine choked out. His words were barely understandable again. How long before he couldn't speak?

"Are you going home? Do you not want me to come get you? I'm really confused, Blaine…"

"D-Don't make me go h-home. I-I don't want to b-be alone, W-Wes." Blaine's voice reached a new level of hysterics. "T-There's no one there. I d-don't want to be a-alone, Wes. Please."

"Okay, okay, I'm not going to make you go home." Wes said quickly, swatting his mother's reaching hand away. "I'll call David and we'll both come to get you."

"No!" Blaine yelped. "N-Not David, please, j-just you!"

"Why not David?"

"H-H-He'll… mad… p-please, Wes, just you. That's w-why I called you." Blaine pleaded. "Please, please, I can't, I can't."

"I've got to go get Blaine. Something's happened. I need your phone." Wes said in a hushed voice. "Hold mine. Don't say anything. If he talks, just give it back to me."

His mother nodded and traded cell phones with Wes.

Wes may have been perceived as not so smart by some (or many), but he knew Blaine. And he knew that if something was big enough for Blaine to call crying, that Blaine would need both David and Wes. Then there was also the fact that he didn't want to deal with David's wrath of not being in-the-know immediately but that was another story. But most importantly, if Blaine needed Wes, Blaine also needed David. They dealt with this stuff together, as a team. And if Wes' suspicions were right, if Kurt and Blaine had split up, there was no way Wes would be able to handle this on his own.

"David—yes, I know it's dinner time—listen, it's Blaine. He's hysterical. We've got to go get him." Wes said, voice still hushed. He didn't want to think of the consequences of Blaine knowing he went to David before the fact. He couldn't risk Blaine going off somewhere or, worse, going home to an empty house where he would be left alone with his thoughts and maybe even contemplate... No. Blaine wasn't going home alone.

"Wait, what?" David asked.

"Just get here, David. And hurry. Blaine needs us."

"I'll be right there." David said without hesitation, hanging up.

Wes took the phone back from his mother, going to fetch his keys and wallet. It would take David several minutes to reach Wes' house anyways, and he had to keep Blaine talking. There was no way he was going to let Blaine get off of the phone. Blaine was not speaking, just watery hiccoughing and sniffling. But it was enough to calm Wes' nerves because at least he was there.

"Blaine?" he asked, voice soft.

"Y-Yeah?"

"I'm going to come and get you. I'll be on the way in just a minute. Can you do me a favor and stay on the phone with me until I get there?"

"O-Okay." Blaine let out a watery hiccough. "B-But my battery is really l-low."

"Just stay where you are and don't leave." Wes said, grabbing a box of Kleenex's off of a table in their hallway.

"O-Okay." Blaine let out a tiny whimper and then fell silent clutching the phone to his ear as if it was his lifeline.

And in that moment, maybe it was.

…

"Took you long enough." Wes hissed, not even letting David make it to the door.

"What the hell is going on?" David asked, rushing to Wes' car with him.

Wes covered his mouth and quickly shook his head. "You still there, Blaine? You okay?" Wes waited for an answer and his face almost looked pained. "Don't apologize, Blaine. I'll be there soon, I'm on my way."

"What—."

Wes pushed a button on his phone, jumping into the car. "It's on mute. Kurt and Blaine broke up."

"What?"

"He hasn't said it but nothing else would make him this way. He's too hysterical to say anything. He told me not to call you but clearly he needs both of us. He's at an airport in Lima." Wes backed out a little too quickly, nearly hit a mailbox, corrected his car, and began to drive quickly. "Put it into the GPS. I made him stay on the phone because—because he's scaring me. It wasn't even this bad when he first got kicked out of his parent's house, David, and you know how bad he was then. He sounds like—what are you doing?"

"I'm calling Kurt to find out what in the hell—."

"No. You. Are. Not." Wes yanked David's cell phone out of his hand. "This is why he didn't want you to know. The problem right now isn't Kurt. Look, you know how Blaine is about Kurt. Kurt is like everything to him. And I don't know what to do. I just know that traffic needs to move faster!"

"I can't believe this. And on Spring Break? Really? Right before his first finals at Harvard?" David said, glaring. "He couldn't wait until summer? Really?"

"We can jump aboard the Kurt Sucks Ship after we know Blaine's okay. I know you're protective of him. I know you're out for blood right now. I'm pissed too. This is Blaine we're talking about. But that's why you have to hold off before you talk to Kurt. Because Blaine needs us." Wes looked down and un-muted the phone. "Blaine, still there?"

"Drive faster." David mouthed, pointing at the wheel.

"I'm going as fast as I can." Wes said very calmly and at first David wasn't sure if he was talking to Blaine or himself. "I'll be there soon, Blaine. Just don't hang up, okay? No, Blaine, stop talking like that—Blaine—don't you dare hang up the phone and if you even think about leaving that airport, so help me God—no, no, don't start crying. Shit." He pressed mute again. "I'm not the one that deals with him like this!"

"He's not going to leave." David said very calmly. "He's just upset and talking. Just tell him that you'll be there soon and that it's going to be okay. Tell him it will be okay."

Wes nodded and took a deep breath. He un-muted the phone and also turned the speaker on. "Blaine?"

"W-What?" David heard Blaine sniffle. He could hear the shudder in Blaine's voice alone.

"It's going to be okay." Wes said firmly.

There was a pause and a tiny whimper. "O-Okay."

"It's going to be okay." Wes repeated. "I'll be right there."

…

"He's over there." David nudged Wes' arm and pointed after what seemed like years of driving when it had only been, in fact, nearly two hours. The airport was mostly deserted apart from three receptionists behind a desk.

Wes looked in the direction David pointed to. Blaine was sitting on one of the many benches, knees pulled to his chest and his face buried in them. His phone lay disregarded on the chair next to him.

"I'm going to kill Kurt." Was all David said before making his way over to Blaine. He moved Blaine's phone, and put his hand on his friend's back.

Blaine looked up, face puffy and red from crying. Wes kneeled in front of Blaine, looking up at him.

"M-My phone d-died. I d-didn't hang up." Blaine whimpered.

"We figured." Wes said quietly, moving Blaine's bag off of the other chair and sitting on his other side.

"K-Kurt broke up with me." Blaine squeezed his eyes shut but it did not stop several tears from falling. "H-He broke up with m-me and I don't know w-what to do."

"That's what we're here for." David said gently, reaching up and ruffling his hair. He found himself thankful that the airport was almost empty and that the two receptionists were well out of earshot and busy texting.

"I'm sorry, Blaine." Wes added softly, grabbing his hand and squeezing it in a brotherly way. "But it's going to be okay.

"We promise." David said firmly.

"I'm sorry I r-ruined s-spring break." Blaine gasped out, trying to hold in his sobs.

"Shut up." David said, wrapping his arms around Blaine in a hug. "You didn't ruin anything, Blaine. You're more important to us than lazing around."

"Although I hope you're grateful. Mom had just finished dinner." Wes said, attempting to give Blaine a lopsided grin.

Blaine pulled his hand from Wes' and covered his face, dissolving into loud sobs. "Oh my God. Oh my God. H-He broke up with me."

"Hey, hey, hey." David said, pulling one of his hands down and nodding at Wes who pulled the other one down. "You were more than just your relationship, Blaine. This sucks. It's horrible and I am so sorry you're feeling like this right now."

"D-D-Did you know?" Blaine choked out.

"What?" David questioned, eyebrow rising.

"K-Kurt. H-He tells Mercedes everything. D-Did she tell you?"

"I don't think Mercedes knew it, Blaine." David answered quietly, still holding tightly onto Blaine's left hand.

"E-E-Everyone else k-knew w-w-we were having problems, but I d-didn't." Blaine cried. "A-And I wanted to w-work at it a-and he s-said he did but th…"

Wes stood and pulled Blaine out of the uncomfortable blue plastic chair, wrapping his arms around the shorter boy in a tight hug. "I don't know what to say, Blaine. I'm sorry."

Blaine stood limp for several minutes before he wrapped his arms around Wes, his head burrowing in the crook between Wes' neck and shoulder.

"It's okay." David said quietly, rubbing his back as his shoulders shook. "It's okay, Blaine. Look… Look… Hey, Blaine, look at me."

Blaine lifted his head up and blinked at his tall friend.

"We're going to go get in the car and go back to Westerville. We'll decide whose house we go to when we get closer."

"Maybe we'll get some Kleenexes first." Wes said, going over and snatching several out of a box on a small table in the airport lobby. "I have a box in the car."

"I d-didn't even say anything. I c-called a taxi after he said it b-but we kept fighting until it was there and then I just grabbed my b-bags and left. I didn't even say goodbye t-to…"

"It's okay. I don't think anyone would expect you to say goodbyes after that…" David said, leading Blaine out to the car while Wes carried his bags.

"We need to text our parents when we get back to the car and let them know Blaine is with us." Wes said.

"In you get." David said, pointing.

Wes put Blaine's bags in after him and rummaged through his bags until he found Blaine's phone charger. "You should sit in the back with him, David."

"Planned on it." David said, moving Blaine's bags to the floor and sliding in next to him.

An hour of complete silence passed before Blaine finally stopped crying. He stared ahead, head leaning against the window and sniffling periodically.

"Blaine, are you going to tell us what happened?" Wes asked, briefly looking at Blaine through his rearview mirror. As he spoke he made sure to not say Kurt's name, as if that would somehow make it easier for Blaine to talk about it. "Why did you get a ticket to Boston? How long were you at the airport?"

"A-An hour before I called you. I was going to go home b-but then I remembered that even the Asshole is gone a-and you were at home and I didn't want to b-be completely alone, so… so I… I just needed y-you two." Blaine wiped his eyes as more tears filled them.

"Why did you tell him to not tell me?" David asked quietly.

"I d-don't want you to k-kill him." Blaine let out a watery hiccough.

"He deserves it." David muttered darkly.

Wes nodded in agreement. He had always liked Kurt, but how could he argue with David when Blaine had been crying for at least three hours by now.

"But what exactly happened?" David asked when Blaine offered no more information.

"The other d-day he was t-telling me he w-was struggling with the d-distance and we ha-had this plan to w-work o-on us. I d-didn't even know anything w-was wrong b-but everyone else d-did. And we h-had the p-p-plan b-but he g-got mad o-over Rachel's w-wedding a-a-and said I c-couldn't co-commit and h-he couldn't d-do 'us' anymore." Blaine cried. "He broke up w-with me. He l-left me."

David stared ahead, glaring. Wes made a clicking noise with his tongue. It was wrong to hate… It was wrong to hate…

"I tried so hard. I tried s-so hard and it just w-wasn't enough for him and i-it was never going to be enough b-because w-who am I joking? H-He's m-meeting all these con-connections and he wants this h-huge lifestyle a-and I'm not g-good enough for that."

"Blaine, don't be an idiot." Wes said sharply. "You are good enough for anyone. Kurt wasn't good enough for you."

"W-Why c-can't I…" Blaine covered his whole face, beginning to sob again. This was ridiculous. He felt like a teenage girl. But he also felt like his life had been shattered. Kurt was all he had. He left UK for Kurt. He lived 2 hours away from his school for Kurt. He gave up things for Kurt, for their relationship. He knew Kurt had given up a lot too. Compromises had been made on both sides and he didn't mean to negate those. At the same time, though, it was Kurt who ended the relationship. Not Blaine. Kurt.

God, he was stupid. So very stupid.

"I-If I'd never gone to Harvard—."

"It's Harvard." Wes said. "You got into Harvard. If Kurt can't appreciate how damn hard you worked to keep up, graduate on time, and to get into that school then maybe he doesn't deserve the life you would have been able to give him after you graduate."

"A-And it's not even only Kurt. That's horrible e-enough but W-Wes, I l-love his family. C-Carole h-has been so amazing an-and B-Burt's been so g-good too and Melody… And I felt like… like I belonged… a-after all that s-shit with my family, I f-felt like I w-was part of theirs, and n-now…"

"Everything happens for a reason, Blaine." David said gently.

"W-What am I supposed to do?" Blaine asked as they pulled into Wes' driveway. "I don't kno-know what to do."

"That's why you have us." Wes put the car into park and turned to face Blaine.

Blaine forced the most pitiful smile they had ever seen, wiping his eyes. "I l-l-love you guys."

"Hey now, don't go there." David teased.

Blaine let out a watery laugh, wiping his eyes again.

"And hey… maybe you and Kurt will make up. You two always take fighting to the extreme." Wes added.

"No." David said sharply, sending Wes a look. "That's not what he needs to hear right now."

"I wouldn't take him back." Blaine sniffled. "N-Not after he gave up on us… on me. I-It's not going to happen"

They all three looked up as Wes' mother rushed out. "Blaine, sweetie…"

"Hey, Jess." Blaine got out of the car and allowed himself to be pulled into her arms, trying his hardest not to wish it was Carole hugging him instead. He needed to just get over it because that was never going to happen again.

…

Five hours.

That is how long Kurt had spent calling Blaine, getting no answer, leaving a voicemail, and then texting him. Begging him to please talk, to answer, to let him fix what he'd done.

"Please pick up, Blaine. Please." Kurt pleaded into his cell phone, feeling more than hopeless but still unable to stop. Because he had fucked up. He had fucked up bad and he needed to fix it right then. Right then when he still could. "Blaine, I didn't… Fuck. Please answer and call me back. I love you, Blaine. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please. I need you."

"This subscriber's voicemail is full. Please try back again later."

Kurt threw his phone across the room, tears filling his eyes.

Five hours and now his voicemail was full. Blaine never even checked his voicemails, never, but Kurt needed Blaine to know he was sorry, wanted to take it back, wanted Blaine, wanted them, wanted things to go back to how they were five hours ago.

What was he supposed to do?

He had just made the biggest mistake of his life and he was sure if he talked to Blaine, that Blaine would take him back, would love him still, but Blaine wouldn't answer.

Where had Blaine gone? To the airport? To Wes'? David's?

How had Kurt done this? He kept trying not to think of Blaine's face, his tears, the ring he had bought. Thinking about it made him feel ten times worse and he already felt beyond horrible.

He picked up his phone, dialing Blaine's number one last time. This time it didn't even ring before the voice started out, "This subscriber's voicemail is full. Please try back again later." Blaine had shut off his phone. If nothing else, he knew Blaine had seen the missed calls, seen the messages.

Seen them and turned off his phone instead of answering any of the voicemails or texts.

He deserved it.

Kurt knew he did.

At this rate, it would be a miracle if he was ever face to face with Blaine again.

Kurt turned his phone over in his hands a few times and then sniffled loudly, feeling hollow inside.

"Boys, we're home!" Carole suddenly called up the stairs. They were finally home.

"Yeah, boys!" Melody giggled loudly. "We're hooome!"

"Go get 'em." Kurt heard Burt chuckle.

"KUUUUUURT! BLAAAAAAAAINE!" Melody screeched running up the stairs and coming to a halt outside of Kurt's door.

Go let her in, Kurt thought but couldn't make himself move. Because moving, letting them in, would lead to questions. Wasn't Blaine leaving in three days? Had he left without a ride? Where had he gone?

He stood, wiped his eyes, and opened the door.

"Kurt, hon, what's wrong?" Carole asked, looking concerned.

Melody ran past him, not even noticing. "Where's Blaine?"

"Blaine… isn't here, sweetie." Kurt sniffed a bit and took a deep breath. He tried to make his voice sound as normal as he could and he must have at least somewhat succeeded since his father began to ask him a question from down the ball.

"Where'd he go? To visit his friends in Westerville?" Burt came to a halt in the doorway. "What's wrong?"

"I broke up with him." Kurt looked down. "H-He left."

Burt looked behind him, as if expecting Blaine to jump out and yell "FOOLED YOU! WE GOT ENGAGED!"

"You what? He what?" Burt asked.

"Where'd Blaine goooo?" Melody tugged at Kurt's hand. "Kurt, Kurt, Kurt, where's Blaine? Did he go back to dogger school?"

"Blaine went byebye." Carole said, moving past Kurt and bending down by Melody.

"To dogger school?" She tilted her head, confused.

"Yes, hon. He went back to law school." Carole nodded, brushing back some of her hair.

"Okay! Kurt can play with me!"

"I d-don't wanna p-play right now, M-Mellie." Kurt said, trying his hardest not to begin crying in front of her.

"Does your tummy hurt?"

"Y-Yeah." Kurt nodded, feeling Burt squeeze his shoulder.

"Tummy rub?" Melody reached up, patting his tummy.

"Honey, mommy will play with you. Go and get your dolls and I'll be right there, okay?" Carole asked gently, nudging her in the direction of the door.

"Okay!" Melody sped off.

"Sweetie…" Carole said, going closer. "Are you alright?"

"I just ruined my life. I'm not really okay." Kurt whispered, voice void of emotion.

Carole pulled him into a hug.

"H-H-He had a r-r-ring." Kurt sobbed into her shoulder. "A-And I s-said he c-couldn't commit and h-he h-had a r-ring and I m-m-messed it up. I-I tried to s-stop him but he was g-gone and h-he t-turned off h-his phone after I t-texted and c-called and I-I have no idea i-if he's in B-Boston or O-Ohio and I don't know what to do."

"It's going to be okay, hon." Carole rubbed her hand up and down his back in an attempt to soothe him.

"Y-You have to c-call him. H-He'll listen to you. He'll a-answer for you." Kurt pulled back, wiping his eyes. "H-He's close to you. I k-know he'll… I know he'll listen to you."

"I don't think Carole or I calling Blaine will have the effect you want, kid." Burt said gently. "He probably wouldn't answer and if he did, it might upset him more."

"I-It wouldn't." Kurt argued.

"Sweetie… Blaine is the type of person who likes to have space when he's upset. If we tried to call right now, he might feel ambushed or it may make him feel worse." Carole squeezed Kurt's arm.

"Are you sure, Kurt? It was a break up?" Burt questioned.

"Burt…" Carole hissed, shaking her head.

"I-I'm the one that said it, Dad. So yes." Kurt's lip trembled. "I think I need to be alone right now if that's okay."

"Of course, hon." Carole nodded, dropping her hand. "I'll bring you up some dinner in a little bit."

"I'm not really hungry." Kurt sniffled. "But thanks."

"You know where to find us if you need us, kid." Burt stepped closer, pulling Kurt into a tight hug. "Everything will work out, bud."

Kurt nodded into Burt's shoulder, swallowing when Burt and Carole left the room.

He didn't really want to be alone at all.

He just wanted Blaine.

***LTC***

"What happened?" Alec asked, getting out of his car early the next morning.

"I broke up with him." Kurt shrugged his shoulders and then burst into tears.

"You texted me two days ago and said things were going to be fine…" Alec came up Kurt's porch and pulled him into a hug.

"H-He's ignoring m-my calls. His voicemail is f-full. He's not t-texting me b-back or em-emailing. I don't k-know where h-he is o-or I-I'd go f-find him." Kurt cried. "I w-want him back."

"Maybe you need to give him some time?"

"The more t-time that p-passes th-the harder it will b-be to get him back. I h-have to get him back." Kurt pulled away.

"What are you going to do? He could be back in Boston by now."

"I'm going to call his b-brother. And find out where Da-David and Wes live. I-If he's n-not in Ohio, I'm going to g-go to Boston." Kurt turned, going into the house.

"Kurt… If he's not answering your calls… he doesn't want to be bothered." Alec said gently. "You need to respect that."

"If I respect that, I'll never see him again! He said he'd never see me again!" Kurt cried. "Don't you un-understand that he is e-everything to me?"

"What good will forcing him to see you do? You said yourself his friends are protective. They probably wouldn't let you see him anyway." Alec reasoned.

"I have to!"

"It's already been done."

"I can fix it. I can. I'm going to try harder. I'm going to get a job and get money to go see him more and—."

"Kurt, you don't have time for a job. The fashion show is coming up. Then you'll be going to New York right after." Alec frowned. "If he doesn't want to talk to you… you need to let him cool down…"

"No. He'll talk to me. When he sees me, he'll talk to me." Kurt argued. "And it'll be okay."

"You broke up with him." Alec whispered. "That isn't like a normal fight."

"Don't s-say that. Anything can be fixed."

"In time, maybe… but don't go corner him. If you call his brother to get that information… What if his brother doesn't know yet? What if Blaine doesn't want him to know yet? What if Blaine doesn't want to see you?" Alec asked.

"You're the one that said I needed to try to work on it, to not just give up because we're having problems. You said we could last." Kurt argued. "He will want to see me."

"Would you want to see you if the roles were reversed?"

"It's not like I cheated. I just said something stupid."

"Cheating is easier to get over than giving up on a relationship…"

Kurt began to cry loudly, throwing his phone onto the coffee table. He really needed to stop that if he didn't want to buy a new phone with money he didn't have. When had he became the person who throws stuff around?

"Do you want my advice?" Alec asked, sitting by him.

"Y-Yes." Kurt nodded, trying to stop crying. How were there still this many tears to cry?

"The last time you kept trying to force Blaine to talk, it made things worse. Give him a few days and then just send a text." Alec frowned. "But he may not answer and you need to be prepared for that."

"But I want to talk to him and t-tell him how s-sorry I am." Kurt looked at Alec, absolutely heart broken.

"You should have did that before he walked out the door." Alec sighed. "He may not want to be in a relationship with you because… you can't handle the distance. Why would he want to just pick up when things are evidently bad enough that you broke up with him? I don't see you being able to magically handle it just because he takes you back. It's just going to get worse."

"You were supposed to make me feel better."

"No. As your friend, I'm supposed to tell you the truth. You need to figure out your own things before you try to get him back because what you did was big and… and if I were Blaine, I wouldn't answer your calls either."

"How would you feel if it were you and Eric?" Kurt demanded somewhat defensively.

"It's completely different." Alec said. "He and I dated for a few months before he moved three hours away for college and I was fourteen. I couldn't see him unless he came home. We didn't see each other this much. Starting CCAD is the closest we've ever been. Before that I would be lucky if I saw him every two months but we were fine with it. Maybe it's because I was so young. But I have never felt like my happiness depended on him being here."

"You said that you would have fights over it."

"It's not really the same thing, Kurt. People have bad days… You barely have good ones." Alec said gently. "You said you weren't happy, that you had been thinking about it since January. In my opinion, I would figure out why that is before I try to get back together with Blaine. But if you hound him, you're going to push him farther away and he won't come back. Ever."

Kurt buried his face in his knees. "I ruined everything."

Alec reached over, rubbing Kurt's back. "You don't know if you ruined it… You may have just made a massive mess of it. But Kurt, what you have to understand is… Blaine wasn't unhappy; he was perfectly fine with how things were. So you really need to fix what's going on with you or you will both be incredibly unhappy moving forward."

"We both are already." Kurt sat up, banging his head gently against the wall behind him.

"It'll be okay." Alec reassured him.

"Would you f-forgive me? Eventually?" Kurt asked, looking at him with sad blue eyes.

"People do stupid things when they're in love." Alec laughed a bit. "Believe me, Eric and I have forgiven each other over some pretty stupid stuff."

"Really?"

"Well when I was fifteen he cheated on me. Once." Alec admitted.

"Why did you take him back?"

"However stupid he was, I loved him and he loved me. It felt silly to give that up because he got drunk and did something stupid." Alec shrugged.

"Do you… love him any less?"

"No." Alec shook his head.

"Do you trust him?"

"Yes." Alec nodded.

"How?"

"Don't get me wrong. It took time to get back to where we were. But I think I trust him because he was very honest about the whole thing. He came up the day he woke up after, crying and begging me to forgive him. He didn't make up excuses or anything. He was very upfront and he was sorry. Most guys his age with a fourteen year old boyfriend… you'd almost expect it." Alec shrugged.

"You two didn't fight?"

"Yes. Well, I did. I went off on him for about two hours. He basically agreed with everything I called him—and I had a very colorful vocabulary at fourteen, believe me." Alec laughed a bit. "But by the end of that day, I told him if he ever did it again I'd leave him."

"What if he did and just didn't tell you?"

"He would have told me." Alec smirked. "He can't keep a secret to save his life. If we ever have kids, we're screwed at Christmas time. I'm surprised he didn't tell me he was proposing before the fact."

"But you two are completely okay?"

"We have never been better. And I think what happened made us happier in the end because we were able to be closer after resolving a real issue." Alec smiled a bit.

"Does it ever bother you?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"If you forgave him… maybe Blaine will forgive me." Kurt admitted.

"Sometimes I think about it but I never worry he's going to do it again." Alec shrugged. "I don't get upset and cry about it or anything like that."

"So one day… he may be able to be with me and not…"

"Yes. A day may come that he won't get upset about it. Everyone is different, though. And it seems like Blaine is a person who needs his space." Alec chewed on his lower lip. "If you want him back, you need to be sure you can handle it. You don't want to hurt him more than you already did… And be prepared. It could be a long time before he even talks to you. Use that time to figure your shit out."

Kurt nodded, sniffling a bit. "Thanks for coming all of the way to Lima… I'm sure you had to leave Eric to come and you were saying you hadn't seen him in almost three weeks before the break… Sorry."

"Hey, it's okay. You're my friend. Of course I want to be here for you." Alec gave him a sad smile. "I just wish you weren't in this position… And I feel bad for Blaine."

Kurt rubbed his face, looking exhausted. "I have to fix this, Alec. I have to fix it. I want him back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been planned for over a year and has been very hard to write. I know that people will be upset. I have a great story to tell (in my opinion), this is happening for a reason, and you should trust me. I have plans in store, great ones. The boys just need to get there.
> 
> I will have 11 up as soon as I possibly can. It's already been started. I'll also try to be better at posting chapters here at the same time that I post them on FFN.


	12. Chapter 12

"I have five sketches to finish before tomorrow, a portfolio to organize, I have to start cutting the fabric for two pieces, and I have to finish my stuff for the internship. I can't do it." Kurt rambled, throwing open the door to his Lincoln Navigator. It had been exactly six days since the worst day of his life had occurred. Seeing Alec was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment because his life was in shambles. He wanted to get in his car, take a deep breath, and collect himself before he drove to pick his sister up. He gently set his portfolio containing his sketches on top of his messenger back before closing the door and turning to face Alec. He might as well get it over with, come up with an excuse to get out of hanging out, and go back to being miserable.

"You've bailed the last three nights." Alec rushed to catch up to him, determined to not let Kurt get away. "But come on. It's just dinner. I'm worried about you."

"You and everyone else I see on a daily basis, but I am _fine_." Kurt reassured Alec as he opened the driver side door. It wasn't that Kurt _didn't_ want to spend time with Alec. At least, it wasn't personal. He really didn't want to spend time with anyone.

"You won't even talk about it. You can't just ignore this because it'll be worse when you think about it." Alec moved in front of the door before Kurt could get in, effectively ending their conversation.

"You don't understand. I am fine. I broke up with _him_ , remember? Why would I be sad?"

If Kurt had ever told a lie, there it was. While part of the time he was happy about the break up, —okay, more relieved than anything— the other part was definitely sad. And when the sadness _did_ come around, he was pretty sure he'd only been sadder once before in his life and that was when his mother died. So, yes, Kurt was definitely sad.

"Don't play dumb with me. I've almost known you four years, Kurt. I know when you're sad." Alec rolled his eyes. "Let me also note that _you're_ the one who brought up the word sad."

 _Damn_ , Kurt thought. Alec was right.

"You don't have to worry about me. I'm just busy. I have classes four days a week, internship three days a week, I pick Melody up four days a week now because they've cut Carole's hours but made her work later. I don't have time to worry about Blaine or eating pizza with you while you try to make sure I'm okay. So I'm telling you: _I'm okay. Don't worry_." Kurt said slowly, hoping maybe Alec would believe him.

"Then you're doing too much. You can't possibly have time for all of that with the fashion show so soon." Alec protested.

" _What am I supposed to do_?"

Alec looked at him, unblinking.

"Would you rather me cry through class? Should I be calling Blaine for forgiveness every day? He's not picking up, okay? He hasn't been on Facebook since the breakup. He hasn't been in contact with Carole. Wes won't even answer my texts and he's the nicest one." Kurt's voice rose. This was the opposite of what he wanted.

"I'm not talking about Blaine. I'm talking about _you_."

"I don't have time to worry about me. I'll do that this summer." Kurt sighed.

"I'm going to follow you home. I'll watch your sister while you do some school work." Alec said.

" _No_. That's all I need. My dad will start poking around asking whether or not you're my new boyfriend. Melody is already confused enough without talking to Blaine. She's finally to the point where she only asks about him when he's mentioned and God knows they don't mention him around me. No. I appreciate the gesture; I really do, but don't worry about me."

"Kurt…" Alec frowned.

"I have to go. I have to pick Melody up by five thirty." Kurt watched Alec.

Alec hesitantly stepped aside. "Call me tonight then?"

"I don't need your pity, Alec. I'm fine." Kurt didn't look away, meeting his eyes.

"I don't pity you, Kurt. I just want to be there for you." Alec took another step back. "Are you free tomorrow?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"Come over. It's Friday and Eric has some huge test to study for. He probably won't even leave the bedroom." Alec stuck his lower lip out. "We'll order Chinese or—or whatever you want. It'll be your night. Just don't sit in your room all night. It's not healthy… Plus, think of it as you saving me from boredom. We'll do school work together and watch movies, or listen to music, or talk about Parsons and how much fun it's going to be to be the best in our class together again."

Kurt chewed the inside of his cheek, looking past Alec at a random classroom building—not really seeing it, not really seeing much of anything. He knew he should be more grateful Alec cared enough for him to cheer him up but maybe Kurt didn't _deserve_ to have fun. After all, he'd broken Blaine's heart.

"I'd do it for you." Alec stuck his lower lip out even more. "My birthday is coming up. You can't say no to me. Ask Eric. It never goes well when people say no to me around my birthday."

" _Fine_."

"And no bailing out. It's not nice." Alec pointed at him. "Tomorrow. We're hanging out whether you like it or not."

"Alright, alright, alright." Kurt let out a resigned sigh and then nodded. "Tomorrow."

Alec beamed, moving away from Kurt's car. "Okay, great! Be careful driving back to Lima. I'll see you bright and early for class. Have a good night, Kurt."

"You be careful too." Kurt said as he climbed into his car. "And don't look so pleased with yourself, Davis."

Alec rolled his eyes and waved.

Kurt watched, waiting until Alec was safely in his own car and that his car had started before backing out of the parking lot.

Now he had to think up an excuse to get out of hanging out tomorrow.

Okay, maybe he didn't like the thought of going to Alec's apartment knowing Eric was there for the week. Maybe he didn't want to see their adorable smiles and how Eric stared at Alec like he was the most beautiful thing on the planet. Maybe he didn't want sympathetic looks Eric gave Kurt when he walked into a room—almost like he _knew_ what Kurt was thinking. They'd done it, why couldn't he and Blaine? At least he hadn't _cheated_ on Blaine, right?

_Stop._

Eric was nice.

Eric had never been anything _but_ nice and it wasn't fair to hold someone's mistakes over their head or to base an opinion of them over that.

But still.

They were still happy while Kurt had… nothing.

Nothing.

Kurt leaned his head against the seat when he came to a red light, biting his lip hard to stop it from beginning to wobble. He wasn't going to cry. He was going to keep himself busy, busy, busy. He'd spent days crying—okay, sobbing—over Blaine and their failed relationship. But he was turning a new leaf. Or something. Trying to, at least.

No.

He was in denial. Not thinking about it, because it was too hard. He'd tried to face what he'd done head on and now he was jumping on the denial train. Which would only be worse for him in the long run but maybe he deserved that too.

Kurt bit down on his lip harder as tears prickled the corner of his eyes.

He'd already ruined one of the three most important things in his life. The only thing he had left was his career. He had to be 110% dedicated these next few weeks. Without giving that 110%, he would be at risk of losing everything he'd spent almost four years building up at CCAD. And that would mean the possibility of being stuck in Lima, Ohio forever.

And that was _not_ going to happen.

…

"I thought I was picking Melody up today but when I got there they said you got her." Kurt said, walking into the kitchen and setting his bag on the table a little over two hours later. He saw Carole at the counter, putting various ingredients into a pot, still in her work clothes.

"Hi, Kuuuuuuurt!" Melody giggled, running up to Kurt and wrapping her arms around his leg.

"Hey, sweetie." Kurt scooped her up.

"Did you not get the text?" Carole gasped, rushing to check her phone. "I forgot to hit send. I hate this new phone. I keep trying to do the other way. I'm so sorry, hon."

"It's okay." Kurt shrugged. "It's on the way home anyway."

Melody kissed his cheek. "The puppy did it again."

"Did Kreacher shake your hand?" Kurt asked.

"Uh huh." Melody nodded, looking positively excited.

"Yes." Carole corrected. "Kurt, I'm so sorry."

"No, it's fine. I'm going to go and do some homework." Kurt placed Melody down on the floor despite her pout.

"Can I help?" Melody asked.

"Sweetie, you know that Kurt's homework is very important." Carole came over, bending down by Melody.

Melody pouted more but went to play in the living room.

"I don't know where she learned this pouting thing." Carole shook her head and then squeezed Kurt's shoulder, offering him a smile. "Dinner will be done in about half an hour, hon."

"Alright." Kurt nodded and made his way up to his room. Lately, it was almost painful to be around Carole for too long. She had said nothing unkind to him but he knew how close she and Blaine were. He couldn't help but feel that she secretly hated him—for breaking Blaine's heart, for pushing Blaine to the point of not speaking to her, for not being the son's boyfriend instead of the son.

He pulled out his five sketches to be done—which were already done, but he didn't exactly feel social. He didn't want to hang out with Alec, hear about how Eric was staying the week because he had some big test and his roommates were loud. Or about how annoying Eric was being. Because at least Alec had a boyfriend that loved him, annoying or not. Kurt didn't really have any hope of ever seeing Blaine again at this point.

He was relieved sometimes, but others he would sign into Facebook and just flip through the pictures of Blaine and the pictures of both of them together on Blaine's Facebook. Blaine hadn't really been on Facebook except once for a few _seconds_ that he'd shown up on Facebook Chat only to disappear again right away. (Probably after seeing that Kurt was on—or was Kurt being paranoid?)

Kurt shouldn't feel sad. _He_ was the one that broke up with Blaine, after all. He'd been thinking about breaking up since January and it was the middle of April. This had been a long time coming, honestly. So why was he moping over pictures on Facebook, not being able to tell Blaine he'd completed two of his pieces for the Fashion show, not being able to tell Blaine he missed him?

Two weeks past Blaine's birthday, one week since the breakup, three weeks and one day until the Fashion Show, and six weeks and five days until he moved to New York to start his new life… His new life without Blaine. But why should he be sad about starting a life without Blaine? Why did Blaine creep into his thoughts any time he drove past a Taco Bell, any time he saw that funny commercial with the toddler that would have Blaine laughing and gasping for breath a whole two minutes after it had aired? Why did he want to cry when he opened his closet and saw that stupid fish cup that he'd been meaning to send to Blaine since August when he realized he'd forgotten it but now it was too late because Blaine didn't want to hear from him and—

Kurt took a deep breath, willing the tears to not come.

 _He_ had broken up with Blaine. So why was _he_ feeling this way? Why was he glad he did it—okay, was glad the right word?—sometimes while others he wanted to crawl in a hole and die because the one person he'd loved more than anything for _years_ had vowed to neversee him again?

Why did he still care?

When you broke up, why couldn't it be like a switch?

"Sweetie, dinner is—Kurt?"

"I'm fine." Kurt said, staring down at his desk.

"No, you're not." Carole came up behind him. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine." Kurt repeated, wiping his eyes. He sniffled a bit. "I'm fine."

Carole kneeled down so she was on his eye level, looking him in the eyes. "Kurt… I'm worried about you."

"Have you talked to Blaine?" Kurt asked, hating how pitiful the word _Blaine_ sounded coming out of his mouth.

"No, hon. I haven't." Carole shook her head.

"I'm sorry." Kurt covered his face with his hands.

"What on Earth are you apologizing to me for?"

"You l-loved him a-and he won't talk to you. It's my fault." Kurt sniffled loudly, still not uncovering his face. "I ruined it. You probably hate me."

Carole gasped, lowering his hands. "What would _ever_ make you think I hate you?"

"You t-two were so close and now he's not talking to me, but he's not talking to you, Dad, or Melody either." Kurt took a deep breath, wiping his eyes once more.

"Look at me." Carole said.

Kurt did, blue eyes red rimmed and teary.

"I miss talking to Blaine just as much as I miss talking to _you_. For the last week, I can barely get you to say five words to me." Carole brushed some of his hair back.

"I f-feel bad. I know you l-liked him more and—."

"Hold on a minute." Carole interrupted.

"You two were so much closer."

"Kurt, if I ever made you feel like I liked him more than you, I am _sorry_." Carole said, looking him in the eyes. "At the end of the day every day, _you_ are my stepson and _he_ was your boyfriend."

Kurt frowned. "You can like him more. It won't hurt my feelings."

"Kurt, you are an _amazing_ person. You're really unhappy right now and you're making big life changes and I know it seems tough but… things will work out. If breaking up with Blaine was the thing to do to make you happy, you don't need to apologize to _anyone_. Blaine can talk to us whenever he wants to, okay? Because, like I said… At the end of the day, you come first. And that's the way it should be." Carole touched his face. "I hope you don't mind me saying this but Kurt… I love you. I know I'm not your mother and I'd never try to replace her. You know that. But I do love you. Very much. And all I want is for you to be happy. Don't let anyone or their opinions stand in the way of that."

Kurt's lip began to tremble and he stood, wrapping his arms around her. "I love you too, Carole. Thank you. For everything."

"You don't have to thank me." Carole said, hugging Kurt tightly. "Just promise me that you won't pull away from me because of the break up. I don't want _our_ relationship to fall apart just because you and Blaine didn't work out."

Kurt nodded, pulling away and wiping his eyes. He was in shock. Carole had never said she _loved_ him before.

"How do you feel, hon? Are you okay?" Carole asked, hand on his arm.

"I m-miss him. He's hasn't answered any of my calls." Kurt looked down.

"Do you… want him to?"

"I don't know." Kurt admitted. "I just… Part of me is glad it's over because there are no more missed calls or trips or no fights… then part of me wants him to call so we can work it out and be together."

Carole nodded. "When I left Finn's father… I kind of felt that way. You know he was into drugs and… I loved him, but I needed it to be over so I could be happy and so that Finn could have a good life. If you weren't happy with Blaine, then it was probably best to break up with him. You never know. You two could grow as people, get back together… Either way, though, you will be okay."

"I'm not crazy to feel happy and sad about it?" Kurt asked.

"No, honey. Not at all." She hugged him again. "It's very normal. It's also normal to busy yourself. Which is clearly what you've done since your homework appears to be done."

Kurt looked down at the desk sheepishly.

"Next week is when it starts? Staying at the studio all night?" Carole questioned.

"Yeah." Kurt nodded.

"What do you have to do until then now?"

"Well in class we've already started putting stuff together. I mean, we have been for months. Open studio hours don't start until next week and I'm too afraid Melody or Kreacher will get a hold of any of the pieces, so I'm just kind of waiting around for next week so I can… basically live there." Kurt admitted.

"Why don't you hang out with Alec? Take your mind off of things?"

"He keeps asking but… I don't know if I'm in the mood to really go out and try to have fun." Kurt bit his lip. "It feels cruel to start hanging out so soon, I guess."

"You broke up with him so you could get your happiness back." Carole reminded him. "You should make an effort to do things. You probably won't jump right back into laughing and smiling and stuff but… it's a process and you shouldn't feel like you can't hang out with your friends or try to get over him."

"'Get over him' sounds so…" Kurt trailed off, not really knowing how to finish what he was saying anyway. Instead, he changed the subject. "Carole, why did you have time to pick Melody up today?"

"They sent me home early." Carole frowned. "Burt and I are going to talk. The hours are so bad that we may be losing money sending Melody to day care and it's clearly putting a strain on you. We appreciate everything you've done, helping out with your sister."

"I don't mind." Kurt promised.

"We should probably get downstairs or Burt may start to worry. He made it home as I was setting the table." Carole smiled.

"I was wondering why we weren't hearing mass destruction downstairs with Mellie down there alone." Kurt forced a laugh, letting her lead him out of the room.

"That toddler is more destructive than Finn ever was. I thought girls were supposed to be meaner but easier." Carole teased.

"Melody can be pretty mean when she wants. I think you're getting the best of both worlds." Kurt teased back, going into the kitchen. "Hey, dad."

"Hey, kiddo." Burt looked at him. "How was school?"

"It was good." Kurt attempted to sound cheerful, sitting by Melody at the table.

"Did you hear back about that thing you interviewed for Monday?" Burt asked, just as he had every day since Kurt had interviewed for his internship.

"They said it could be up to three weeks before we hear back, remember?"

"Oh, right." Burt said, again just as he had every day since Kurt had interviewed for his internship.

While he had been interviewed at CCAD, it was an interview for a studio very close to both his future apartment and Parsons. Not only that, but it was _extremely_ difficult to even get an interview and the designer's assistant conducting the interview had seemed to really like Kurt. If Kurt got this opportunity, it would likely turn into a job. Even if it didn't turn into a job, having that on his resume would do wonders for his career after Parsons.

This internship would change Kurt's life.

Unfortunately, he was not the only person he knew that was up for it.

Not Alec. Kurt could have dealt with losing it to Alec because he and Kurt were friends. Close friends.

But Derek.

Derek who gave him these little smirks ever since finding out he broke up with Blaine. Derek who had been trying to corner Kurt alone in a room, who kept licking his lips and acting utterly repulsive.

Really, how had Kurt let this guy become the catalyst for his and Blaine's break up? Ultimately, that's what had happened. Things had never _really_ been fixed since that night Blaine and Derek met.

"Well, I'm sure you'll get it. You're damn good at what you do and you and that other boy are top in your class."

"Alec?" Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Have you two been hanging out any more?"

"Dad, for the millionth time, he's _engaged_. Remember? You met his boyfriend." Kurt sighed. He knew what his father really meant. Nobody could replace Blaine, nobody would live up to Blaine in Burt's eyes. But what his dad didn't understand was that Kurt already _knew_ that.

"He's so much older, though. Are you sure that boy doesn't like you?"

Kurt scowled.

"Blaine likes Kurt, daddy." Melody cut in.

Kurt cringed, pushing his plate away. "I think I'm done eating."

"Kurt…" Carole frowned.

"I'll eat some later if I'm hungry." Kurt rushed out of the kitchen and up the stairs, quietly closing his door. He went to his closet, pulling out the box of stuff he'd stored, tossing the fish cup off the top, and pulling out a photo album. He turned to the end, seeing a picture of him and Blaine at Blaine's UK graduation, a picture at Melody's birthday party, a picture of both Blaine and Wes pointing to their Harvard acceptance letters. Blaine had been so happy to be going to Harvard and all Kurt could see was his own pain.

But Blaine threw this on him.

Blaine didn't give him adjustment time.

Blaine had turned their lives together upside down.

Without so much of a mention.

This was _not_ only Kurt's fault, he reminded himself.

Still, that didn't make it any easier.

* * *

 

After a failed attempt at an excuse to get out of dinner with Alec and a very internship session the very next day, Kurt headed out of the building while digging his phone out of his messenger bag. He didn't know why he was checking it since Blaine was the only one to ever text him while he was in Columbus and that would never happen again, but old habits did die hard and he had a feeling it would be a while before he didn't automatically check for a call or text.

And maybe… maybe Kurt was hoping Blaine had responded to one of his tons of messages, that maybe he wanted to talk things through.

But that was mostly daydreaming and Kurt was smart enough to see the situation for what it was. Some break ups were worse than others; theirs had apparently been one of the worse ones.

He had no text messages, no missed calls, but three emails. One was from Express Men informing him a sale, one was a security alert about a robbery near campus and one… was from the internship he'd applied and interviewed for?

Holy.

Shit.

"I just got an email from the internship!" He announced, finally having made it to Alec who was waiting outside.

"Well?"

Kurt pulled open the email just as Derek walked out behind him.

"'Dear Mr. Hummel, we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected for the internship slot at our main headquarters in New York City!'" Kurt read excitedly, feeling happier than he had in seven days. "'This is a very prestigious opportunity as only one student is chosen per year and you will make contact with several designers residing in the area. Please accept the offer within 48 hours by phone or email!'"

"Oh my God!" Alec exclaimed. "Congratulations! That's amazing! Did you hear, Derek?"

"Did I hear what?" Derek asked, although his frown told Kurt he'd indeed overheard. After all, what didn't Derek overhear, right?

"Kurt got that internship in New York! Did you ever hear back from the internship you were trying out for?" Alec asked.

"It was the same one."

Alec fell silent, eyes widening. "Oh…"

"Congrats, Kurt." Derek said before walking away.

"Oh my God. You totally knew and let me do that." Alec said, half glaring at Kurt. He then laughed. "You must be feeling better."

Kurt watched Derek get into his fancy car.

"Well to be honest, that was kind of the cherry on top." Kurt admitted.

"That's so wrong." Alec shook his head, not looking upset in the slightest.

"You don't seem to feel too bad for hurting his feelings." Kurt noted.

"You know I'm kind of starting to see he's a bit of an asshole."

"What did he say about me?" Kurt asked shortly.

"He said you were more fun to chase after when you had a boyfriend." Alec frowned.

"Are you serious?" Kurt looked at Alec.

"Yes. Don't worry. I let him have it. I guess Eric was more right about him than I thought."

Kurt shook his head. "Whatever. I try to avoid him now anyway. I've been single for a week and he already asked me out twice."

_Single._

Wow.

That was… weird.

But he was.

Single, that is.

Kurt Hummel was… single.

"Alright. I'm sure you need to go home and celebrate with your family _but_ we can at least still get some food, right? I'll pay. My treat."

"You _really_ want to avoid going home, don't you?"

"So he's taking this surgery… thing. I think he calls them clerkships? He sat in on this surgery on an infected leg and he keeps talking about pus and blood and…" Alec gagged, looking sick to his stomach. "I love him to death, want to spend the rest of my life with him, don't care to let him stay with me now because his roommates suck even though it is _eating_ into our budget with how much gas he's plowing through. But, Kurt, that is _so gross_. It's disgusting. I know he's excited and I'm okay hearing about the cute kids he works with when he's doing the pediatrics stuff. I was even less grossed out when he did the gynecology stuff but I _cannot_ handle pus and blood and muscle and…"

Kurt shuddered. "We can get food if you stop talking about surgery and gynecology."

"You're my favorite person alive." Alec said, looking relieved. "I'll pay since you're awesome and got the internship."

"I won't turn down free food." Kurt smiled. "But first let me text Blaine and tell him I got the inter—"

Alec's smile faded.

"Nevermind." Kurt forced another smile. Had he really just done that? Just like that, any happiness he'd felt seem to evaporate into thin air. "I'll drive?"

"You okay?" Alec asked slowly.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Kurt nodded. "I'll drive?"

"Great. Pizza, Chinese, burgers?"

"Burgers." Kurt said, walking towards his Lincoln Navigator.

Alec got in the passenger seat. "Burgers it is. I know the perfect place."

…

"I knew you'd get it, Kurt! I knew it!" Burt exclaimed as soon as Kurt opened the front door a few hours later.

"I take it you got my text?" Kurt asked as Burt came over, literally _picking him up_ as he hugged Kurt tightly.

"I did! I'm so proud of you, kiddo. I knew you'd show everyone. You're going to New York and you're already ahead of everybody else. You just… You just beat everyone that ever told you that you couldn't do it, Kurt. Those bullies, the people who put you in the hospital, everyone. You proved them wrong." Burt said, talking fast. He looked at Kurt, eyes bright.

"Put me down! You're going to hurt yourself!" Kurt exclaimed. All he needed was his father to have a heart attack or—or something and end up in the hospital.

Burt put him firmly on his feet but did not look any less excited. "I knew you'd do it. Even when you stayed here for your undergrad, I knew you'd make it there eventually. You're gonna knock it outta the ballpark, Kurt. You're going to New York! You have a job! This is really happening!"

"Congratulations!" Carole rushed into the room and over to Kurt, hugging him.

"The pay isn't good at all. It's mostly an internship, you know." Kurt laughed, some of the excitement and happiness coming back. They were right. He _had_ done it. "It's not income worthy."

"But it's _something_ , hon." Carole said, pulling away.

"Your grandparents are on the way. They're about twenty minutes away." Burt said. "And as soon as they leave, Taylor and Paige want you to Skype them."

"Paige cried." Carole said. "And you could hear Taylor screaming in the background."

"Oh my God, Dad. Did you tell everyone?"

"Not everyone. I want _you_ to call Elizabeth's parents tomorrow and tell them." Burt said. "And your uncle."

"They aren't going to care."

"Yes, they will." Burt put his hands on Kurt's shoulder, leading him to the kitchen where there was a cake.

"Oh my God." Kurt said, covering his mouth. "Carole, you didn't have to do that."

"Of course I did." Carole beamed. "This is a big day for you."

"And it will be one of the last times that you get to see your grandparents before you move." Burt added.

"Oh, you just want cake." Carole rolled her eyes but smiled.

"YAY KURT YAY!" Melody ran in, bouncing up and down.

"Do you even know why you're cheering?" Kurt asked, bending down.

"Nuh uh." Melody shook her head.

"Because you're brother got the internship!" Burt exclaimed proudly.

"What's dat?" Melody tilted her head.

"It's like a job." Kurt explained, kissing her cheek.

"YAY KURT YAY!" Melody repeated. "Down, please!"

Kurt laughed, putting her down, as the doorbell rang.

"GRAMMY! GRANDPA!" Melody squealed, taking off towards the front door.

"Well if it isn't the most beautiful girl I've seen in my life!" Kurt's grandpa, Andy, said as he bent down to give her a hug.

Melody giggled, shyly running to hide behind Carole.

"Come here!" Kurt's grandmother, Annie, said throwing her arms around Kurt. "Tell me. What did Blaine say? I bet he's so excited."

"I… haven't told him yet." Kurt said¸ eyes darting to his father. Had Burt nor Paige told them? Really? Gossip usually flew through the family.

"Why ever not? You should call him right now that way we can hear his reaction." Andy said, shocked.

"You know, I don't think he'd pick up. We… separated." Kurt took a deep breath.

"What?" Annie gasped. "No!"

"Did he cheat on you?" Andy asked.

"Of course not. Blaine would never cheat." Kurt said in an offhand way.

"It was the distance." Burt explained quietly and Kurt was glad he didn't have to comment further. "Think they were just too young."

"Well you two did move very fast." Annie said. "Living together so soon and all."

"Look at Taylor and Paige. Those two have broken up several times and they're still together today." Andy added.

Kurt swallowed, looking down.

"Everything happens for a reason." Annie patted his shoulder. "But right now, we're here to celebrate you getting this internship!"

Kurt forced a smile.

"So sit down and tell us all about it! Don't leave a thing out!"

…

"Aww, lookit our baby Kurtsie. He's growing up on us." Taylor cooed before Kurt could even say hello to his aunts later that night after his grandparents had left and Melody had been put to bed.

"We're so proud of you!" Paige said, waving at him through the screen.

"And we can't wait to _see you in New York!"_ Taylor added excitedly. "Are you coming up before you move here or just when you move? We want to take you and your friends out to dinner, alright? And you'll be near my bookstore so I can show you the best places to get food."

"Kurt doesn't eat food out. Unlike you, he can cook." Paige laughed. " _I_ can show you where to get groceries at a reasonable price."

"She's lying. Nothing is reasonably priced in New York." Taylor grinned. "I hope you're saving up money."

"I've been trying. And dad's getting me a credit card with a higher limit." Kurt said, having to fight a smile. He loved seeing both of his aunts together again. It was just too bad that he and—No. Kurt wasn't thinking about it.

"That's either really smart or really stupid." Paige snorted.

"I've started packing stuff up for when I go. There was a lot I didn't pack up from when I lived in Cincinnati." Kurt said, careful not to add _with Blaine_ to that sentence. All he needed was to think about Blaine again and—damn.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Paige asked, frowning.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?"

"I don't know if I'm okay. It's just been so… back and forth." Kurt admitted. "Sometimes I'm fine and happy with my decision. Other times, I feel like I've made the worst mistake of my life and it's like I can't breathe and I want to call but he's not picking up and he's not answered emails or texts. Part of me wants to go to Boston but…" he shook his head, trailing off.

"It gets easier." Taylor reassured him.

"What if I made the wrong decision?" Kurt asked, looking between them two. "How am I supposed to fix it?"

"You can't ignore the reasons you two broke up, Kurt." Paige said. "Until you and he can find a way to compromise or another way to handle the situations, you two shouldn't get back together. Because if you do it'll be a vicious cycle of getting both of your hearts broken over and over and over."

"Plus… If he doesn't want to live in New York or California… you shouldn't have to give up the career you're going to school for, you know?" Taylor asked. "There are valid issues you two didn't _deal with_. Until you do deal with them... Well, Paige is right. There's no point in being together if you two can't figure your shit out."

"Don't cuss in front of him."

"Paige, he's 21 not 8." Taylor rolled her eyes. "He can handle hearing the word shit."

"Yes well he's still your nephew." Paige shook her head. "The point is, Kurt, that you shouldn't risk putting yourself through more break ups. Blaine was very sweet, yes, but you two can't help that you wanted different things."

"Well you two wanted different things and you broke up and got back together." Kurt pointed out.

"Coulda seen that coming from a mile away." Taylor sang.

"Well we also had a pretty nasty break up like yours and Blaine… But we had to work through it. And once we talked through our problems—."

"Once we hooked up again." Taylor coughed.

"Once we _talked through our problems_ , we got back together."

"Technically we hooked up, got back together, and _then_ talked through our problems." Taylor corrected.

Kurt blinked at the screen. "You two hooked up?"

"Not the first time." Taylor chirped. "We actually—."

Paige covered Taylor's mouth. "Don't you _dare."_

"It will be totally worth it for his facial expression, Paige. Come on."

"Tell us about the internship." Paige said quickly before Taylor could let slip how they had _really_ met.

Kurt, thoroughly confused but thinking it best to remain in the dark, began to tell them about the internship. "Well it's in this fashion designing studio five minutes away from Parsons. I'll work under two of the top designers in the office. It'll be a lot of hands on experience. I'll even get to help make the clothes."

"Sounds like you'll barely get paid to do someone else's job." Taylor commented.

"We can't all own bookstores, dear." Paige rolled her eyes. "This is how it works in the real world. Kurt, that's great. If you're hired on past the internship, you can work your way up until your experienced enough to be the top designer in your _own_ office."

"That's the plan." Kurt nodded. "I'm really excited. I actually _will_ be coming up before I move down. Two days after graduation I'm going to an orientation there, to fill out paper work, and stuff. I'm going to stay with Rachel and Finn when I'm there, set up a bank account, and stuff like that."

"If you need help with _anything_ , you just let us know." Paige said. "Do you need a ride from the airport?"

"Oooh, we should meet him. Show him the trick to catching cabs." Taylor said.

"And we can show him the subway system."

"Don't say Rachel is showing you everything. We're your aunts. We have to have _some_ part in your discovering the beautiful city of New York City. I mean visiting here is one thing but _moving_ here. It's practically our rite of passage as your aunts."

"Fine. You can show me how to catch a cab and the subway system." Kurt laughed, starting to feel more excited. This was _happening_. He was making plans to learn _the_ New York City. The New York City that would be his _home_.

Taylor and Paige high fived, beaming.

"But really, we're so excited you'll be in New York. It's going to be so good to live close and get to see you more." Paige smiled at him.

"We miss you." Taylor cut in. "We miss you a lot."

"I miss you all too." Kurt gave them a sad smile.

"We're so proud of you, Kurt." Paige beamed. "We knew it was only a matter of time before you made it up here and now it's really happening."

Kurt's smile grew and it felt more real this time. It really _was_ happening. In less than two months, he would be a resident of _New York_. Not only New York, but _the_ New York City.

"Hey, we have to get off here." Taylor said. "I have an audit at four in the morning and I'm forcing her to go to bed early too."

Paige rolled her eyes. "She is. But we love you very, very, very much. And we're so proud."

" _Extremely_ proud." Taylor beamed. "We'll talk to you in a few days, Kurtsie."

"Alright. Bye. Love you guys." Kurt waved, closing his laptop when they both signed off.

He moved his laptop to his desk and stood at the desk, looking at his promise ring that had sat on his desk, in that very corner, since the morning following their break up. He sat at the desk, gently picking up the ring and squeezing it tightly in his hand. He then put it back on its spot, in the corner, and went to make sure his bedroom door was locked before pulling Blaine's Dalton hoodie out of his bottom drawer and sliding it over his pajama shirt. So it was the middle of April and he wasn't cold in the slightest? He hadn't been able to sleep without it.

Not that he slept that well with it, but bad sleep was better than no sleep.

He turned the light off before crawling into bed, fighting tears as Kreacher lay next to him and licked his face.

"Thanks." Kurt sniffled, closing his eyes as Kreacher rested his head on Kurt's stomach—the same position he would be in for the rest of the night.

 _I'm the stupidest person alive,_ Kurt thought to himself as he drifted to sleep.

* * *

"Can I come in?"

Blaine, who was lying in bed in the middle of the afternoon and not doing homework, didn't respond. He blinked up at the ceiling, breathing softly, trying to block Wes' voice out. He knew Wes meant well. He really and truly did. But it was exhausting to have Wes by his side, constantly asking him if he'd slept, if he'd eaten, if he'd had a good day. And truthfully, it wasn't _only_ Wes' voice he was trying to block out. It was more life in general. Because life in general sucked as of late. Nothing seemed good anymore.

"Blaine, are you awake?"

The door slowly opened, cautiously, as if Wes was afraid of waking Blaine up—rightfully so, because if he _had_ been asleep it would have been the first time in a while.

"You're up." Wes noted, taking a few steps into the room and closing the door. "Did you make it to class on time?"

"Yes." Blaine said, not looking away from the ceiling.

"You had gotten up. I guess you fell asleep again." Wes watched Blaine.

"What?" Blaine pushed himself into a sitting position.

"You didn't eat. I had a sandwich for you, remember?"

"You don't have to do this." Blaine sighed, looking out the window.

"You won't eat, you don't sleep much, and you barely talk to me. The only time you'll really let me see you is the middle of the night when you're crying and I force myself in here." Wes sighed. "I do have to do _this_. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I'm not going to do anything to myself." Blaine promised, _finally_ looking Wes in the eyes.

"How do you feel?"

"I almost…" Blaine screwed his eyes shut. "Almost called him today."

"Do you want—."

"No." Blaine cut him off. "No, no _no_. I can't hear his voice, I can't talk to him. I can't and I won't."

Wes came closer, sitting down by Blaine on the bed. "I'm sorry David isn't here. He's better at this kind of thing."

"I think you're just fine." Blaine forced a pitiful smile.

"Yeah?" Wes asked.

"Yeah." Blaine sighed heavily. "I can't believe I almost slept through my class. I haven't done my homework yet, either. It's getting…"

"You can't do that." Wes sighed.

"I know. I know." Blaine covered his face in his hands, rubbing. "I need to get my act together. One of my professors is getting annoyed. I can tell."

"Why?"

"I used to talk more." Blaine lowered his hands. "It's not like I'm _not_ talking now but I'm talking as much as the other students who aren't as good."

"Don't let the break up effect school. That is the _worst_ thing you could do."

"I know." Blaine felt tears fill his eyes. "I feel like I don't know how to _breathe_ anymore. It just hurts. Everything hurts. I used to love doing these cases, reading up on things, and now…"

"You've still got that passion for it. Right now you're just really sad but it'll pass. It's going to get easier." Wes promised him, wrapping his arms around Blaine in a tight hug. "It's okay."

"I miss him, Wes." Blaine mumbled into Wes' shoulder. "I r-really miss him."

"Don't cry. It's alright." Wes soothed.

"I miss him and A-Asshole is being an asshole and it's just so _hard_!" Blaine cried.

"That's why you've got to talk to me or David. You keep pulling away from us. You need us, Blaine. You need to talk to us. We want to be here for you." Wes rubbed his back. "Let us help you move on."

"I don't want to move on. I want to go back in time that way I never would have left UK, I never would have gotten this attached to him." Blaine shook his head. "I was there on his fucking death bed. Do you know what it was like to see him before he'd had that lung surgery, Wes? It was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen in my _life_ to see him struggling like that. And I took _care_ of him and it didn't even mean anything. None of it meant anything."

"That's not true. You don't wish you hadn't left UK and you _know_ it didn't mean _nothing_. You two loved each other."

"Kurt didn't love me or he couldn't h-have done this to me. To us." Blaine shuddered.

"Hey now. You know that isn't true." Wes said gently.

"I don't care if I feel differently tomorrow or next week or next year. I wish I hadn't left UK to take care of him. It was the worst decision I ever made. Just another time he turned my life completely upside down." Blaine scowled.

Wes ran his hand up and down Blaine's back, knowing Blaine didn't mean a word of what he was saying. Blaine was upset and had been spouting off things like this since they got back home, and inevitably three hours later he would be coming to apologize, saying he hadn't meant it, he wouldn't act like that again.

"Get some rest, okay? I'm going to get us some dinner. After we eat—and yes, you're going to eat—we can work on our homework together." Wes pulled away.

"I'm not hungry, Wes."

"I don't care. You haven't eaten all day." Wes stood. "I'll be back in like an hour and a half."

"Fine." Blaine lay back against his pillows, closing his eyes and trying to forget the world. That wasn't as easy as songs made it out to be.

* * *

Blaine knew he should probably eat but the thought of food made him sick to his stomach. He knew he should go through his email, clear out the junk, but he knew there would be those emails from Kurt—the ones he hadn't deleted, the ones that had resulted in him spending half a night crying into his pillow until Wes had slipped into the room, laid on the bed next to Blaine, and hugged him until… well, until Blaine woke up the next morning after some very restless hours of sleep.

Speaking of sleep, Blaine should have probably taken a nap but naps led to dreams about Kurt. Dreams about Kurt went one of ways—Blaine waking up happy, remembering, and feeling as though he'd been broken up with again. Or the alternative, Blaine waking up from a dream replaying the break up over and over and over, also resulting in Blaine feeling as though he'd been broken up with again. Either way, sleep never worked out too well for him.

Blaine sat on his bed and then let himself fall against the pillows, staring up at his light. Maybe he could add the second light bulb on so his room would be brighter. Then again, Blaine didn't exactly feel like being in a bright room. In fact, he wouldn't have minded being in a pitch black room until it quit hurting.

His phone buzzed and he sighed. Of course his ringer wasn't working _again_. Just like everything else in his sucky life. At least he knew when he checked his voicemails, there wouldn't be any from Kurt. Wes had already deleted all of them that he received over the first few days and Kurt had _finally_ stopped calling.

Blaine pushed dial next to the voicemail icon and made himself comfortable, putting his phone on speaker. First, he heard a voicemail from Wes from the night before.

"Blaine, I'm locked out. It's raining. LET ME IN!"

Blaine tried to crack a smile but couldn't make it come as he deleted the message.

"No, you half pint half blood mutt. Let me in!"

Blaine deleted, rolling his eyes. It had been a while since Wes had called him a mutt.

"I mean that with love, Blainers. But it's really cold. Okay?"

Blaine deleted this one, hoping beyond hope that Wes had deleted all of the voicemails from Kurt like he'd said he had. What if he'd forgotten one? He didn't know what he'd do if he had to hear Kurt's voice… Especially when he wasn't expecting it.

"Hey, it's Alex. Call me back. I've tried calling you a few times but I think I'm catching you when you're in classes. It's important."

Delete. Important meant it was about one of two things: His grandmother's health or his money. Personally, Blaine didn't have it in him to handle any of those things at the time.

And finally, the most recent message began.

"Hello, Mr. Anderson. I'm calling with CMJ in regards to your internship application. Our members here at CMJ feel like you would be a great addition to our practice and would like to schedule an interview with you. Please call the phone number 618-738-3100 at your nearest convenience. Ask to speak to Stephen Desmond."

Blaine stood, grabbing a pen and jotting the number down on a notebook. This was _not_ what he needed. To go for an interview and act like he wanted to be there. He didn't want to be anywhere apart from his bed with a jug of ice cream and a Vogue magazine.

He looked up when the door to his bedroom opened.

"Did you touch my glasses?"

Blaine blinked at his roommate."Why would I touch your glasses?"

"Because they were on the microwave and now they aren't." The guy snapped. "Your friend hasn't been here all day."

"And I haven't left my _room_ all day." Blaine snapped.

"Right. You had to have eaten at some point. Just tell me where you put them and—."

"And what?" Blaine questioned, standing.

"And I won't make you show me."

"I didn't touch your fucking glasses. Maybe if you didn't leave your shit all over the damn place, you would be able to find it." Blaine said, maintaining a composed voice although he wanted to throw himself at his roommate and punch his face in. Or maybe throw the roommate out the window. Or—

"No. You probably took them to jerk off to or something because you're a faggot."

"Right. I enjoy jerking off to my asshole roommate's glasses. That makes a whole lot of sense." Blaine said sarcastically. "I don't know

how you faggy people work."

"If you say the word fag in my presence one more time—."

"You are a fag. You are a _faggot_. A faggoty faggoty _faggot_!"

Blaine threw himself at the guy, punching everywhere he could reach after knocking him to the ground. He barely felt the blows the guy landed on him, he didn't feel anything really, until he was roughly pulled into a standing position.

"Blaine! Blaine, stop!" Wes shouted as Blaine struggled to break free.

"I'M DONE! I'm done!" Blaine shouted right back. "Let me go!"

"No!" Wes tightened his grip on Blaine to the point where it was painful.

"You broke my nose! You broke my nose!"

"It's a nosebleed, you idiot! Man up!" Blaine sneered.

"You man up and fuck a girl for a change!" Blaine elbowed Wes (He was going to feel horrible for that later) and threw himself onto the guy again, punching and punching. "You—are—a—pathetic—excuse—for—a—human—being!"

"Blaine, for the love of God, please stop." Wes pleaded, pulling him off again. "It's not worth it."

"I'm _out_. Find another roommate to deal with him. Apparently even his boyfriend couldn't!" The guy sneered before storming out, hand over his nose.

Blaine moved towards the door as if to go after the guy.

"What are you _doing_?" Wes demanded, pilling him back. "What if he presses charges?"

"And let them know a faggot knocked him down, got on him, and hit him? Right." Blaine scoffed.

"Blaine, you've got to get a hold of yourself. I know you're hurt and you're angry but you have got to quit doing this."

"Doing what?"

"You just elbowed _me_ to get at that guy." Wes pointed out, sounding desperate. "Your room is an absolute _mess_. You nearly slept through your class yesterday. You're not eating, you're barely sleeping, and I _can't_ manage making sure you take care of yourself and go to classes while taking care of myself and going to my classes."

"You don't have to take care of me. Nobody has to take care of me." Blaine snapped.

"If you won't, then who will?" Wes asked, watching him.

"I'm _fine_. Just because David is in New York doesn't mean you have to play mother hen. I'll eat when I want, I'll sleep when I want. I'm 22 years old."

"Blaine, come on… You won't even talk about it. When you're home, all you do is sit in here and at night you cry yourself to sleep even if I come in here with you." Wes frowned. "I know you're hurting but you're not handling it the right way."

"Like you could understand. All you do is have sex with girls and forget their names two days later. You've never been in love and you can't know how I feel!"

"You're right… but I can understand you're hurting and acting in a self-destructive manner. So snap out of it and quit snapping at me."

"I'm leaving."

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk. Anywhere but here." Blaine moved past Wes.

"Can I go with you?" Wes asked.

"Just do your homework. You've got an exam tomorrow. I'm fine." Blaine sighed and made his way out of the house.

 _I should have brought my iPhone,_ Blaine thought several minutes later as he turned down a street, not sure where he was going but not wanting to go back to their house. Not back to Wes and his worrying. Not back to his Asshole roommate. To schoolwork that was such a chore to do. To a room that needed to be cleaned.

"Hey there."

Blaine looked up to see Adrian, who had been walking in the other direction. Had he really ran _that_ far that he was near Adrian's house? Wow.

"Oh, you don't look like you're in a good mood. What happened?" Adrian questioned.

"I don't want to talk about it." Blaine muttered.

"Alright." Adrian nodded. "Well how are you holding up?"

"I don't want to talk about that either."

"What do _you_ want to talk about?" Adrian asked.

"Some people called me about an internship."

"That's great!" Adrian smiled.

"Yeah. I guess." Blaine scowled.

"Come on."

"What?"

"Come on. Let's go and get some food." Adrian said.

"I don't have anything with me." Blaine said dumbly.

"My roommate made pizza. It's all kinds of delicious awesomeness." Adrian promised.

"I don't know… I don't look presentable."

"Gary's not home." Adrian shrugged.

"Wait, you live with Gary?"

Adrian grinned. "How else would I have access to his shampoo?"

"Are you two dating?" Blaine questioned.

"God no." Adrian looked at him like he was crazy. "No, no, no, no, _no_."

"That's very adamant. Do you like him?"

" _No._ "

"Uh huh."

"Trust me. Maybe I did for like a week but then you _live_ with him. No way. His bathroom is _disgusting_. Anytime he leaves the door open and I see it I want to vomit in my mouth." Adrian said very seriously. "I have never met a gay man as disgusting as him. Can we stop talking about it?"

"So you want me to eat pizza a disgusting person cooked?"

"He's a germ freak in the kitchen. Don't ask. But he makes awesome food." Adrian led into his house.

"I like your house." Blaine said, looking around.

"Thanks." Adrian smiled brightly and pointed towards the kitchen. "What have you done for fun since… you know?"

Blaine shrugged, taking the piece of pizza that Adrian offered him.

"Oh, come _on_. You live in _Boston_. There are so many things you could do to take your mind off of things." Adrian sat on a stool by his counter, motioning for Blaine to sit as well. "You can't just sit around your house all the time."

"I can so." Blaine protested.

Adrian looked at him. "You're not handling this break up very well, are you?"

Blaine looked down and shook his head.

"Break ups suck."

"It wasn't just a break up." Blaine sighed. "I mean, we just… had all of these _plans_. And his family was like my family. It's stupid. And I think I'm angry at myself for being so invested in a relationship but…"

"You all had been together like five years. It would have been weird if you weren't invested in the relationship, right?" Adrian asked. Blaine shrugged.

"I guess. It's just hard to…" he trailed off.

"Break ups _suck_. I've been on both ends of them. You'll be okay. First month is the worst."

"Great so in a month I'll feel all better?" Blaine asked sarcastically.

"No. However in a week you'll be distracted, though. Mock trial coming up." Adrian pointed out.

Blaine groaned. "That's in two weeks?"

"Yep. Meaning you've got one week until you're too distracted to think about your break up." Adrian said, voice overly cheerful.

"I'm trying so hard to feel motivated." Blaine sighed, barely eating any of his pizza. "It's hard enough to eat or sleep. Wes has to force me to sleep."

"You have a nice roommate. Gary wouldn't care." Adrian laughed a bit.

"We've been best friends since we were fourteen." Blaine explained.

"And you both came to Harvard?"

"He's in the biochem program. It kind of ended up that way." Blaine took a bite of his pizza and stared at the counter glumly.

"We're going to do something this weekend. Your roommate Wes should come." Adrian announced. "Wes and I are going to break you out of this funk."

"I really don't —."

"I'm not taking no for an answer." Adrian shrugged one shoulder. "Sorry. The only thing that could get you out of it is an internship interview and that won't take all weekend."

Blaine hesitantly looked up.

"You'll thank me. Promise."

Blaine sighed a bit. "Yeah, maybe. I think I'm going to go. Thanks for the pizza… I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"Cheer up, Blaine." Adrian said, walking him to the door. "Have a good night."

"I'll try." Blaine promised. "You too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter seems... weird. Kurt goes back and forth and is repetitive. Blaine... is Blaine. I did this intentionally. I feel like this is just a weird kind of chapter that helps things progress to where they need to be. Hopefully it wasn't too painful to read. The next chapter will be better, I promise.


	13. Chapter 13

"Hey, there is a car that looks just like Da—." Blaine trailed off.

"David's?" David asked, grinning.

Blaine threw himself forward, wrapping his arms around David in a tight hug.

"Hey, Blaine." David said as he hugged Blaine back; he was beginning to feel guilty for not having come sooner. He had to make a point to visit more, especially with Blaine in his current state—not eating enough, going between sleeping too much and not at all, not giving 110% in school, barely talking… From what Wes had said, Blaine wasn't okay. He was far from it—and it didn't take a genius to see that, either. Blaine had clearly lost at _least_ ten pounds.

"Why are you here?" Blaine pulled back, trying his hardest to look happy but there was only so far acting could take him and his eyes gave away the rest.

"Wes asked me to come." David said. "Blaine, you're not okay."

"I'm fine." Blaine attempted a cheerful smile although it was useless. David and Wes knew him better than anyone—better than Kurt, even.

 _Kurt_.

"If you're fine, I'm an Indian." David eyed him. "Can we go out? All three of us, to get food and talk?"

"I don't feel like talking. I'm really tired."

"I came all the way from New York, Blaine." David didn't break eye contact. "I'm not leaving until Monday and I would much rather have this discussion out of the way so there isn't tension until I go home."

Blaine gave a resigned sigh and nodded. "Alright. Fine. But I'm not happy about it."

…

"I can't lie and say I know what you're feeling right now." Wes said an hour later as he, David, and Blaine sat at a booth in a Mexican restaurant. There was a large plate of Nachos in front of them, but the three of them had yet to touch them. "I don't know what to say to make you feel better. I can't relate at all. But I asked David to come because I'm worried about you. You're withdrawn, you're not putting as much into school as you did before spring break; you're not eating and sleeping like you should be. I don't like seeing you this way."

Blaine busied himself by staring at the patterned tile of the table they were sitting at, tracing the orange sun with his finger.

"Break ups suck, Blaine." David sighed. "But you're going to be okay."

"It doesn't feel that way." Blaine mumbled.

"You _will_." David promised. "Remember after you… wanted to kill yourself? When you called?"

Blaine didn't respond.

"It took you a long time to bounce back but then you _did_. The thing is now… Now, unfortunately, you don't have the luxury of not taking care of yourself or not giving 110% in school. Because if you make yourself sick and have to miss school, that could be detrimental to your grades. And if you get sick and miss or just slack off and do badly in your classes, it could hurt your chances of getting a job in two and a half years when you graduate. With a Harvard degree, you've got to want to be the best and… and you can't settle for being the standard." David sighed. "I don't want to sound like I'm lecturing you but… you can't let the break up negatively affect school… School is important."

Blaine bit his lip.

"So what can we do to help you?" This time Wes spoke, watching Blaine carefully. "What do we do to help you get over him?"

"I don't want to get over him." Blaine mumbled. "I want to just wake up and not remember him at all."

"That's not going to happen, so you've got to find a way to… for lack of better words, get over it." Wes didn't take his eyes off Blaine.

"I don't know how to do that." Blaine finally raised his head, looking between the two of them. "He has been such a huge part of my life for _years_. Everything I have reminds me of him or a day we had. When songs come on the radio, I remember singing them in the car with him. Sometimes I see people at school dressed similar to how he would dress and I get so _excited_ because it's like I think it's Kurt and then I realize it can't be Kurt because Kurt doesn't love me anymore and wouldn't want to see me in the first place and…"

"Stop." David cut him off. "This is what needs to not happen. Listen… You are _wallowing_. And it was okay. Everybody gets a two-week pass for wallowing in self-pity, but it's been almost a month, Anderson. It's time to buck up and move on."

Blaine looked at him, wounded.

David continued, unfazed. "I'm sorry but there's no way to even sugarcoat this. You miss him, and you're heartbroken. But you're an adult now and… and it's time to get on with your life. You don't have to forget Kurt. But you've got to move on. There's no alternative. It's been too long. You've got to."

Wes nodded in agreement. "You can't be unhappy the rest of your life."

"I don't know how to be happy without him."

"Then fake it. Fake it until you make it, Blainers. What you're doing isn't healthy and we're—."

"We're not going to let you do it anymore." David finished. "Give me your phone."

"What?" Blaine asked.

"Just give it to me." David held out his hand.

Blaine sighed, dropping his iPhone into his hand. He watched David go through, deleting Kurt's text messages.

"Some of those were important!" Blaine said, reaching for his phone.

"Not anymore they aren't." David moved on to Blaine's photos.

"David, stop it!"

"You can't sit and stare at this crap all day, Blaine! How do you think you can get over him if you keep looking at pictures of you all doing stuff?" David asked.

"That's stupid because they're all backed up anyway." Blaine scoffed.

"Put in your Facebook password and give me the phone." David handed him the phone back.

"David, maybe you…" Wes trailed off.

"No. All contact is gone. No more Facebook stalking, no more reading texts from three years ago, no more looking at pictures from high school. You can't start healing as long as this stuff is staring you in the face because if it's there, you're obviously going to look at it because it's what you've _been_ doing." David said, looking at Wes while his words were aimed at Blaine who was surprisingly actually signing into his Facebook for David.

"Here." Blaine's voice was barely above a whisper as he passed it back to David. He looked away as David went to his friends section on the app and the un-friended Kurt.

"Did you return the ring yet, Blaine?" David asked, his voice much gentler than it had been. Maybe he felt bad, but it was called 'tough love' for a reason.

Blaine shook his head, staring out the window with tears stinging in his eyes.

"You said you returned that." Wes stared at Blaine, taken aback.

"I went to but couldn't make myself go in." Blaine took a deep breath. He wasn't going to cry. He wasn't going to cry. He _wasn't_ going to cry.

"How long do you have to do it?" David asked.

"Three more days."

"We'll do it tomorrow." David said. "And tomorrow we'll close down the joint bank accounts you and Kurt have. You already opened one up here anyway for your loans and stuff. Just take what is yours, put Kurt's in his account, and close the joint one."

Blaine wiped his eyes, biting his lip hard. " _Fine_. Can we please stop this now?"

David nodded. "For now."

Blaine tossed ten dollars on the table and rushed out the restaurant.

"Do you think we were too hard on him?" Wes asked.

"Something has got to snap him out of this." David shook his head. "He can't pine over Kurt for the rest of his life. After how Kurt just _ended_ it, without even giving Blaine a real chance to work through things… there's no reason for him to pine over Kurt like this. Clearly Kurt didn't feel about Blaine the way everyone thought he did. It's time for Blaine to move on like Kurt obviously has. I'm pretty sure Kurt's been moving on since he found out about Blaine's acceptance letter."

"Don't say that." Wes sighed, pulling out his wallet. "They could get back together one day."

"I don't care if they do. He hurt Blaine. From the day he sent Blaine crying to my house over winter break, I knew Kurt wasn't good enough for Blaine anymore. I don't see my mind ever changing." David stood, adding money to the pile Wes and Blaine had made before going up front to pay with the bills.

Wes went out, going to stand behind Blaine who was standing outside Wes' car and looking down, tears every so often making their way down his face.

"I'm sorry, Blaine." Wes whispered, putting his hand on Blaine's shoulder.

"Me too." Blaine sniffled loudly.

"Do you want a hug?" Wes asked, squeezing his shoulder.

"P-Please." Blaine nodded.

Wes pulled him into a hug, hand petting Blaine's ungelled curls. "It's going to be okay. We've got your back. We've gotten you through worse."

"T-Thanks." Blaine sniffled again as David came up, straightening himself out. "Even if I'm really u-upset. Thanks."

"Anytime, Blaine." David put his hand on Blaine's back, rubbing up and down a few times. "Let's get back to your house and watch some trashy TV."

"As long as it's not the Bobby Brown show, I'll watch anything."

* * *

 

"Why do I have $2,000 extra dollars in my checking account?" Kurt said out loud, staring at his PNC Bank account's website. He went over to accounts to check the others before noticing… there wasn't anymore. His joint savings and checking account with Blaine was gone. Just… _gone_.

He blinked at the screen, swallowing hard. There had been $1437 in the joint savings that was his portion and in his checking… $563. That was $2000.

Blaine had closed the accounts.

He had closed the accounts and moved Kurt's money back into Kurt's personal checking account.

Kurt swallowed again, logging off and hurriedly signing onto Facebook. He raised the mouse to the bar, began to type in Blaine Anderson. _His_ Blaine wasn't there. Some infantry something guy named Blaine Anderson showed up with a little "Add Friend+" icon next to it.

Blaine's profile was unsearchable. He had to add you before you could even look at _anything_. There wasn't even a way to see his profile picture. Not even a stupid _profile_ picture. The pictures he'd been tagged in gone and any of Blaine's past wall comments were gone, all _gone_. Just… gone.

Kurt took a deep breath. Maybe he shouldn't have spent so much time on Blaine's Facebook, looking at pictures, remembering good times, laughing at Blaine's old statuses because while Blaine rarely posted on Facebook… Whenever he did, it was always funny or so rude that it was funny. And to have that taken away… What way did he have to keep tabs on Blaine now?

Realistically, Blaine hadn't posted on Facebook even once since the break up and he'd only shown up on Facebook Chat for mere seconds at a time. But _still_. There was still that form of connection… But now? It was gone.

Blaine wasn't answering calls, texts, emails, and now he couldn't even see his Facebook, didn't have a joint account.

"I'm not going to cry." Kurt said out loud, standing up. He looked around the sitting area of his internship, where he had been sitting for over an hour waiting for his shift to begin. Why had he checked his computer? Why right before he had to work his last shift? _Why?_ "I'm not going to cry, it's okay. This is what happens in break ups. This is what you wanted."

This wasn't at all what Kurt wanted.

But fine.

It was fine.

He didn't have time to think about it. He had to be 100% on the last day because if he botched this last day up, it could affect recommendations the place would give him. So Kurt had to man up, push it out of his mind, and try to finish out the day. Besides, Kurt reminded himself, this was a break up. This all had to happen eventually.

He gently set his laptop inside its case and zipped it up. He put on a smile as one of the designer's assistants approached him.

"He left the folder of stuff for you to do on the desk in the copy room." The woman said, smiling.

"Thanks." Kurt nodded, putting his bag over his shoulder and making his way towards the copy room.

The copy room where, of course, Derek was standing around. Because Derek seemed to always be around when Kurt needed somebody to punch.

Derek looked up as Kurt entered, a smirk spreading across his face. "Hey, Kurt."

Kurt walked past Derek without even a glance, grabbing his folder off of the counter and turning to leave the room.

"Don't be that way." Derek said, hand reaching out to wrap around Kurt's wrist as he made his way to exit.

"Don't touch me." Kurt said, voice surprisingly composed.

Derek's grip tightened. "Don't be that way."

"Let go of me." Kurt said, tensing.

Derek dropped his wrist, smirk still plastered on his face. "You haven't been very friendly with me, Kurt."

"Yeah? Take a hint." Kurt began to walk away. "I have stuff to do."

"Are you still mad I overheard your conversation with Alec? I don't know how many times I can say sorry." Derek moved in front of Kurt, blocking him leaving.

"Apology accepted." Kurt said through gritted teeth. "Move."

"Where are your manners?" Derek leaned back against the door frame, watching Kurt carefully with dark brown eyes.

"Some people don't deserve manners." Kurt remarked. "Move."

"I think we both know what's really going on here." Derek said, eyes not leaving Kurt. "You're acting this way because you have feelings for me and don't want to look like an asshole for moving on so quickly. Who cares what people think?"

"Are you as dumb as you sound?" Kurt hissed.

Derek leaned over, whispering in Kurt's ear. "I get over people within hours, Kurt. I mean I know he was loaded but there are people with more money than him… Like me."

Kurt froze, unable to even speak. Blood rushed in his ears. Derek thought he was the kind of person to stay with someone for _money_? Blaine's money meant _nothing_ to him. _Nothing_.

Then, it hit him.

"How do you know how much money Blaine had?" Kurt demanded, moving away from him.

Derek smirked. "Don't worry about it. Well off families know their competitors. I know you wouldn't understand that."

Kurt gritted his teeth. Derek really _was_ as dumb as he sounded.

"Come on. He wasn't _that_ cute. Someone like you could do so much better." Derek pulled back, smirking. "You deserve better. I'm better."

"Go." Kurt said, moving away from him.

"I could give you better, Kurt." Derek called as Kurt walked away.

Kurt spun around, walking back up to him. "It will _never_ happen."

"I like this side of you, Kurt. It's much better than you moping around over your frizzy haired ex."

"It will never happen." Kurt repeated in a low voice. "So leave me alone."

"Better get those copies made." Derek stepped aside, checking Kurt's body out and then leaving the copy room as a designer walked in.

"Everything okay, sweetie?" The woman designer asked, smiling.

"Fine." Kurt responded, forcing a smile and opening the copying machine. He wasn't even supposed to _make_ copies, but he would have looked absolutely insane for being in the copy room if he didn't since Derek had made his statement. He let out a deep breath when the woman left, grabbing the copies off of the machine and tossing them into the trashcan on his way out. He tried to ignore Derek's smirk as he walked into the main office, instead focusing on the papers in the manila folder telling him what needed to be done before he received his papers for successfully completing his internship.

Getting his work done would have gone by a lot quicker if he hadn't spent the time wondering exactly how Derek had _really_ found out about Blaine's money. Did it really matter, though, since it was the last day of the internship and theoretically the last time he would ever see Derek again? Or since he and Blaine were broken up anyway?

Man, it was turning into an awful day.

…

"I have tried to be positive about today." Kurt dropped into a seat across from Alec a few hours later. "No, wait. I really haven't. Because this has been one of the _worst_ days of my life."

Alec, who had been looking over his portfolio, looked up. "What's wrong?"

"Blaine deleted me on Facebook and closed our joint bank accounts." Kurt sighed.

"Did he block you? Just get on mine."

"Are you his Facebook friend?" Kurt asked eagerly.

"No."

"His is completely private. His name won't even show up. He has to add you." Kurt sighed again, looking disappointed. "Last week I was fine. I was even relieved when it came down to all of this stuff. But I just… I'm _sad_. I really hate this back and forth."

"You've been a lot more positive than you were even two weeks ago, Kurt. I'm sure there are good days and bad days." Alec reassured him. He wasn't a pro when it came to break ups but he _did_ know that Kurt had been doing a lot better.

"He won't answer my calls or texts, Alec. I can't even see a profile picture anymore. There… There is no contact between us. Period. He still hasn't called Carole and that breaks my heart because she loves him like a son. I'm her stepson and she loves me, yeah. She and Blaine bonded when he moved in and now they aren't even talking."

"Has your stepmom tried to call him?"

"She called him two weeks after the break up and she tried again last night. She left a voicemail saying that she was trying to give him time but to call when he was ready to talk."

"She told you that?" Alec looked surprised. "I thought they weren't mentioning his name in front of you or Melody."

"No. I overheard her making the call." Kurt massaged his forehead.

"What about your dad?"

"They talked." Kurt sighed. "Apparently Dad texted him the day _of_ the break up and they've texted off and on, but last week they talked on the phone."

"So he's talked to your dad and not Carole?" Alec looked surprised again. "That's weird."

"He's really, really weird about communication." Kurt shrugged. "He finds it harder to talk to people he knows better. I don't know how much longer I can talk about this without getting really upset."

Alec continued, not quite ready to end the conversation _just_ yet. "I don't know. Maybe that's a _good_ thing. By not talking to Carole, maybe it means he's trying to move on. If it's not going to work between you two, there's no real reason to have any lines of communication open. Right?"

Kurt looked at him, not offering up an answer.

"I mean… ultimately, it would make the break up harder. If Eric and I broke up, I wouldn't talk to _his_ parents." Alec continued. "You're handling the break up better than you were a few weeks ago, right? You should want the same for Blaine. Being close with your parents will probably make it harder on him."

"I don't know how much better I'm doing if I'm this upset he deleted me on Facebook and closed our joint accounts." Kurt muttered, frowning.

"You're getting there." Alec patted his shoulder. "We've been over this. It takes time. If I were you, I would be _glad_ he isn't talking to Carole."

"But they were really close…" Kurt frowned.

"He'll call her when he's ready and hopefully by then, he'll have moved on." Alec reassured him. "This is a good thing."

"How do you know it's a good thing?"

"Because you broke up with him and he's trying to move on." Alec said slowly. "This is what you wanted, Kurt. Remember?"

Kurt sighed. How did he explain that none of this was what he wanted? What he _wanted_ was for Blaine and he to remain together, in school, until they got real jobs? That he _wanted_ to marry Blaine, to have kids with him. At least, that was what he'd wanted for a very long time. It was hard to just throw those thoughts and feelings out the window.

"Anyway…" Alec tried to change the subject to something happier. "Are your pieces for the fashion show ready?"

"I finished at five this morning." Kurt nodded, perking up a bit. A distraction from break up talk would be nice.

"Lucky. I've got three pieces to finish." Alec moaned.

"You've got two weeks left." Kurt forced a smile. "You'll be fine. Plus, you work best under pressure. I'm the complete opposite."

"Yeah. That's exactly what Eric said last night, trying to get me to fool around. 'C'mon, babe. You know you work better putting it off.'" Alec rolled his eyes.

Kurt actually laughed. "I bet _he's_ excited."

"Yeah. All he's got is graduation left." Alec smiled. "His parents will be over in a few days so he'll be going back to Toledo."

"He's really been spending a lot of time in Columbus." Kurt noted.

"I think he and his roommate are getting on each other's nerves." Alec snorted.

"Is he still getting on your nerves?" Kurt laughed again.

"Oh we always get on each other's nerves. I don't know how we'll actually live together once we get to New York. It's a good thing he's a doctor because I'll never see him." Alec laughed loudly at himself. "We are in trouble, Kurt."

"You two will be fine. You can tell by looking at you." Kurt promised.

"How long did it take to adjust to living alone together?" Alec asked.

"I don't know. It just happens naturally and gradually… You two will fall into new routines together and you won't even realize it's happened." Kurt frowned, looking down.

"Hey… I have an idea that might cheer you up." Alec said.

"What's that?" Kurt asked, looking back up at him.

"Well in a month we'll be moving to New York and I for one have no idea how _anything_ down there works. So I was _thinking_ we could take a weekend trip there together? It will give you a chance to have some fun and not think about things and it will give both of us a chance to get acquainted with the city. I, for one, am very directionally challenged and could use all the extra practice I can get." Alec grinned and then added, "Just me and you. You've got aunts and friends up there. If we can stay with some of them, it won't even be that expensive. And I have like tons of gas cards and Visa gift cards from my parents that I haven't been able to use."

"Haven't been able to use? Why didn't you spend it on clothes?"

"I always forget about them." Alec admitted, shrugging.

"Well I could call my aunts tonight and see if they care to let us stay there. I'm supposed to go there _anyway_ to be shown around and I'm sure they won't mind you staying at their house. I just have to warn you that they're very… odd sometimes." Kurt said, feeling a sense of excitement run through him. "I like your ideas, Alec Davis."

"You know, I've had a few good ones in my time." Alec grinned. "Awesome. So let's do it. We'll have a mini vacation in New York. You can even see your friends and stuff! It'll be amazing."

"I'm really excited." Kurt smiled—and not a forced one. This was _good_. Distraction is just what he needed to move on completely from the break up. He would focus on the fashion show coming up and their trip to New York, pushing his feelings about the break up or even his frustrations about Derek aside.

"Me too. It'll be nice." Alec stood and grabbed his bag. "Let's get some ice cream or something. I'm not ready to go home yet."

"Is he still in the same pajamas from Tuesday?"

"Don't talk about it." Alec cringed. "He's like 'Well at least I changed my boxers.' I don't give a damn if you haven't been able to lie around in your pajamas for eight years. At least _change_ them."

"Has he been showering?"

"Yes. He just puts the same pajamas right back on." Alec rolled his eyes. "I told him he could wear a pair of mine when his were in the washer. I told him to sit around naked for all I cared when I was at school, but he's not washed them."

"He probably has washed them and is telling you he hasn't." Kurt pointed out.

"God, I hope." Alec groaned. "Men are so annoying."

"Speaking of annoying men," Kurt interrupted. "I have to tell you what happened with Derek today."

"Oh no. Is it going to piss me off?" Alec asked. "I told him to lay off bugging you. Alright, go on and tell me. What happened?"

"Well…" Kurt began before launching into the story.

And, yes. Kurt was pretty sure it would piss Alec off.

* * *

Blaine turned his phone over and over in his hands, biting his lip. David had finally gone back on New York and that was good. In fact, it was amazing.

It wasn't that Blaine hadn't _wanted_ him there.

However, when Wes and David were together, they tended to tell Blaine everything he was doing wrong to deal with the break up and everything he should have been doing instead. It had taken everything in him to not go off on both of them earlier when he had returned Kurt's ring.

_Don't you feel better now?_

_Aren't you glad that's done?_

NO. No, he was _not_ glad he had returned the ring he was going to use to propose to the love of his life.

 _Ex-_ love of his life, that is.

Was Blaine supposed to be happy he'd been ready to pop the question (Okay, ready to do it sometime in the near future) and instead ended up _single_? Ha. Ha ha ha. The answer to that surely couldn't be _yes._

He clicked onto his contracts, scrolling to the "C" section. His finger hovered over Carole's name before he locked the phone, setting it down.

He wanted to call, he really did. But what did he say?

Sorry for not answering your last two calls?

Sorry I didn't tell you I'd gotten your care package, it just made me cry for three hours?

Sorry I ruined things with Kurt and now you probably feel obligated to talk to me?

Blaine rubbed his forehead and bit his lip. He'd wanted to call her but he couldn't make himself actually do it. What if she was mad at him for not calling sooner? What if she didn't want to talk to him at all anymore?

He was mostly being silly, he knew that. But he couldn't _help_ it.

He unlocked his phone speedily and pushed her number, closing his eyes when he heard the dial tone.

One ring…

Two rings…

Three…

Maybe he should hang up now, before she answers. He can text her, say he called on accident, butt dialed her, something, anything…

"Hey, hon."

Blaine bit his lip hard, feeling tears spring to his eyes. He then swallowed and said, "Hi, Carole."

"Hang on one second, sweetie." Carole said. He could hear her saying something to someone, saying she'd take her lunch early, and that she'd be back soon.

Of course Carole was at work. Why hadn't he thought of that? Would it make her mad? Look like he had no regard for the things going on in her life?

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Are you still here?"

"Yes." Blaine said, voice sounding higher than he meant it to. He was _nervous_. He was nervous to talk to Carole. He never thought he'd feel this way. And it made him feel like an absolute baby.

"I'm so glad you called. I've been worried about you, Blaine." Carole said, her voice gentle and soothing. Could she tell he was crying? Did she just _know_? She had always been excellent at knowing when he was upset. "How is school?"

Blaine felt a rush of gratitude at her for _not_ having asked how _he_ was, but instead how school was. "It's normal."

_Say more. Say more._

"You're getting close to the end of your first year! I'm really proud of you, hon. Are you still top in your class?"

"Yeah." Blaine wiped his eyes, trying his hardest not to sniffle. "I'm sorry."

"Honey, what on Earth are you sorry for?" Carole asked gently.

"I w-wanted to call but didn't… know what to say. And I still… don't." Blaine couldn't stop the sniffle, wiping his eyes again.

"Oh, sweetheart. It's okay. You can call me back if you want. You can take all of the time you need. I'll still be here."

Blaine let out a quiet sob. "I don't want to call back. I want to t-talk."

"Then we'll talk." Carole promised. "Did you have classes today?"

"Study group." Blaine sniffled. "I've been home an hour."

"Don't cry, Blaine. It's okay." Carole's voice was still soft and comforting. Why wasn't Carole his mom? Or, better yet, why wasn't his mother like Carole? Why did Blaine have no family to turn to?

Blaine took a deep breath, nodding although she couldn't see it.

"It's okay." Carole repeated gently. "You're fine. It's okay."

"I j-just know you're i-in a tough spot a-and I don't want to make things awkward for you." Blaine sniffled. "I don't want you to f-feel obligated."

"Honey, I don't feel obligated. I care about you. I care about Kurt too, but I deeply care for both of you. I hate that both of you two are going through this." Carole said. "I didn't call the day of the break up because I… I didn't know what to _say_ to you, Blaine. I figured you would want your space, but I'm sorry I _didn't_ call that day. But I'm here for you, sweetie. I'm always here for you. I hope you know that."

Blaine wiped his eyes again. "I don't want to _not_ talk to you. I… I have a hard time f-finding people that care for me and that I care for and I… I don't want to lose you… if that's okay."

"Honey, you won't lose me. I'm here as long as you want me here." Carole promised.

Blaine gave a watery smile.

"How are you holding up?"

"I don't know." Blaine admitted, pulling his knees to his chest. "I uh… deleted him on Facebook and closed our accounts yesterday… and today I… I returned the engagement ring. I'm having a really hard time… accepting it, I think. Sometimes I'll wake up and not… not remember we're broken up and then I do and I just…" he trailed off. "I'm trying to not let it affect school and everything but it's hard."

"Has it been getting easier?"

"Not really but school's been distracting me a lot and Wes and David are being their usual big-brother selves. Wes and I are trying to find a new roommate… Well, we _should_ be trying but we haven't actually had the discussion yet."

"Oh? What happened to the other one?"

"He and I got into it and I gave him a nosebleed, so he moved out." Blaine actually snorted. "Wes' dad has been fronting the other guys' rent portion but we still need to look. It's hard to get time to actually _talk_ when we see each other. Every time one of us doesn't have a test, the other one does."

"That's how it goes." Carole laughed.

"How is work?"

"It's not going too good. I may end up quitting. The hours are becoming sparse and it's too much work to get Melody picked up by the daycare's closing time." Carole said. "Burt and I need to sit and do the math but we're pretty sure we'd save money in the long run if I stayed home until she goes to actual school."

"I'm sorry." Blaine frowned.

"Oh, honey, you don't have to apologize! Staying home for a while might not be so bad. Maybe I can keep up with Melody's laundry. She goes through three outfits a day sometimes." Carole laughed again. "How is your friend? Wes?"

"Wes is alright. He's at a study group thing now… which might not end well. He and his partner absolutely hate each other. They're the top two students and she thinks he's obnoxious on top of everything else." Blaine bit his lip.

"Sweetie, my lunch is over so I have to go. But… we'll talk again, right?"

"I'd… I'd like that." Blaine answered.

"Soon?" Carole asked.

"Yeah. Soon." Blaine smiled a bit. "Thanks, Carole."

"For what?"

"For being the only person to not make me talk about the break up." Blaine took a deep breath. "I'll try to call you later this week. Tell… Tell everyone I said hi, I guess."

"Alright, hon. Keep your head up. It'll get easier. I promise." Carole assured him. "Bye."

"Bye." Blaine hung up and set his phone down, feeling as though some weight had been lifted off of his shoulder. Carole _did_ seem to still want some sort of relationship with him despite the break up and, like he'd thanked her for, she hadn't pestered him about the break up. It hadn't been the most intellectually stimulating conversation he'd ever had, but he was fine with that.

It was something.

…

"My father says, and I quote, 'Get a roommate.'" Wes announced two hours later, barging into Blaine's bedroom. "Oooh, whatcha looking at?"

"Old cases." Blaine said, squinting.

"Blainers, do you need glasses?" Wes grinned. "I bet you'd look hot with some Ray Ban's. You know, ones that aren't sunglasses."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "I don't need glasses. I'm just tired."

"Uh huh. You'll need glasses soon enough if you keep having to read print that damn small." Wes peered down at Blaine's notebook. "Jesus Christ. Hey, did that say the dude robbed a manger?"

"Yeah. He stole the little baby Jesus." Blaine actually laughed. He was surprised at how casual the conversation was going. Most of them consisted of 'How was your day?' which really meant 'Have you cried today or do you need to cry?' That or 'You should do such and such to take your mind off things' which _really_ sucked in the instances Blaine wasn't thinking about the break up.

"You're studying _that_ at Harvard?"

"No. That was an add on charge." Blaine explained. "He also stole a heating and cooling system from the church he stole it from… and nearly $200,000 cash…"

"And _that_ is why it's a case study being used at Harvard."

"It ended up being a mistrial." Blaine shrugged. "We're supposed to be finding what went wrong. Well, it's more in depth than that but that's the gist. We'll be discussing it in class so I'm writing anything that jumps out. How was the study group?"

"I regret leaving music theory." Wes sighed, taking a look at Blaine's notes.

"Oh, you're like the number one student." Blaine rolled his eyes.

"This Alicia girl is getting on my last nerve." Wes moaned. "Whine, whine, whine. She gives girls everywhere an annoying name."

"You'll survive." Blaine closed his notebook.

"Really, though. We need to try and find someone. Dad is pulling his whole 'You're too old for me to be helping you pay rent' thing. It's 'like you think tuition for a Harvard masters isn't enough.'" Wes mimed with his hands and he spoke. "I probably shouldn't have called right as they were doing dishes. He's never liked washing them."

"Well coming from someone who took out like nine loans to go to Harvard himself, he did fork over a _lot_ of money." Blaine pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you know anyone who needs a roommate?" Wes asked.

"Not offhand. I really only talk to Adrian, Ashleigh, and the people in my study group, though." Blaine shrugged. "I'll ask around. Do _you_ know anyone?"

"Nah." Wes shook his head. "Well a few people but nobody I'd want to _live_ with. But I'll try to ask around too."

Blaine nodded. "Alright."

"Good day? You seem… better." Wes plopped down by him.

"Yeah. I… uh… I called Carole."

Wes looked surprised. "Why?"

"I thought I was ready to talk." Blaine gave a half smile, although it was kind of pitiful. He was glad they had talked but if he was completely honest, thoughts of the breakup had plagued him the last two hours more so than the last few days. He wanted to talk to Carole again soon; he really did, but… Was it worth thoughts of Kurt flooding back when he was trying to move on?

"How did the talk go?"

"It wasn't anything special… Just small talk. But she… she still wants to talk to me. Even though Kurt and I… broke up." Blaine looked down.

"That's good, right?" Wes asked. "You want to talk to her?"

"I _do_ want to talk to her but at the same time I keep thinking about Kurt even though we didn't even talk about him on the phone really. It's the association, I guess." Blaine frowned. "But Carole means a lot to me and I don't want to cut her out of my life. You know Kurt's family was like my own and it would be easier to cut his dad out than Carole but I really don't want to lose contact with either of those two. Burt—apart from that big Kurt fiasco way back when—has always supported me and Carole has been…"

"Sort of like a mom." Wes finished for him.

Blaine blinked, having never thought of it _that_ way. But Wes was kind of right.

"I'm not ready to give it up. Is that weird?" Blaine asked.

"No. You were closer to her than even mine and David's mom." Wes said. "If you two can maintain that without you and Kurt being together, then you _should_. You don't have a whole lot of people behind you."

Blaine nodded.

"Just be aware that… with you and Kurt broken up… it may not be the same as it was. You need to have that in the back of your head. If things change or if you two end up not talking as much as it gets more complicated… you need to not let it hurt you. Alright? You're both in sort of… awkward positions." Wes spoke gently, trying to not say the wrong thing or make Blaine defensive.

"I know. I think that's why I waited so long to call her back." Blaine admitted. "I'll keep a guard up, okay?"

"Good. I just want to make sure you won't get hurt… again." Wes patted his back. "I'm glad to see you more cheerful, Blainers. You really look like you feel better. I'm glad you two talked."

Blaine smiled. "Me too."

"Back to the roommate issues, though." Wes sighed. "We have to find a new one. I just hope we don't get someone like Asshole… Speaking of, I found out his name. On a piece of mail."

Blaine grunted, not interested.

"No, Blaine. You're going to like this."

"Doubt it." Blaine mumbled.

"It's _Dick_. Well, Richard, which is often times called Dick."

Blaine looked up. "You mean I could have been calling him _dick_ to his face?"

"I thought you'd get a kick out of that." Wes grinned.

"No. I just feel like I've been jipped an opportunity." Blaine pouted and then shrugged. "Oh well."

"Want to get dinner out tonight?" Wes asked.

"Sorry but I can't. Adrian and I are meeting because he's having problems with an assignment and then after we're probably going to get drinks depending on how early it is."

"You know… _If I were gay_ , I would totally think he was cute." Wes wiggled an eyebrow. "Do you?"

"We're just friends, Wes." Blaine rolled his eyes.

"But he's gay. He said so at dinner."

"Yes after you _nonchalantly_ asked if he did dudes or chicks." Blaine snorted. "I already knew he was gay."

"You just failed to mention the person you spend free time with is gay? Seems suspicious." Wes teased.

Blaine stood, looking at him. "It's too soon to tease me about boys… And it's way too soon for me to even _think_ about dating someone. I don't want to date anyone else _ever_ right now. I'm sure down the line that will change, that I'll 'love again' like your mom said, but now I just don't want anyone. Ever."

"Then maybe you should… call Kurt? At least for some sort of closure? Do you think you'd feel better?"

"Absolutely not. Plus, you know David would kill you if he knew you mentioned that. Remember the whole 'no contact' thing?" Blaine pulled his shirt off and then pulled on a t-shirt.

Adrian had mentioned a closure talk with Kurt as well. Frankly Blaine thought anyone who thought he should have any sort of chat with Kurt was out of their mind. For as much as he missed Kurt, he found that a lot of the sadness had been replaced with anger. _Serious_ anger. He hadn't been talking about it much because he didn't like being so angry with someone that wasn't his father. But, needless to say, any interaction with Kurt Hummel was not a good idea. Blaine was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to hold back and he was even surer the conversation would have ended with Kurt in tears.

"It could help you get over him?" Wes suggested.

"Doubtful." Blaine responded, once again looking at Wes. "Look, I should get my stuff ready to go and meet him. Don't wait up."

"Use protection, son." Wes said, lowering his voice.

"I hate you."

…

"You make it sound like the simplest thing in the world. Maybe I should have been an English major." Adrian whined two and a half hours later as he snapped his notebook shut.

"What did you major in?"

"I double majored." Adrian said, taking a drink of his Sprite. "In two completely random and different areas."

"Oh?"

"Environmental Engineering and…" Adrian sighed. "Philosophy with a minor in Finance."

Blaine blinked at him. "What? Can you… repeat that?"

"Nope. No need to. You heard correctly."

Blaine arched his eyebrow and asked slowly, "So… why are you at Harvard Law?"

"Because I had 4.0 GPA, a raw score of 103 on the LSAT and I was in the 99.9 percentile."

Blaine stared at him. "Woah. You double majored, had a minor, and had a 4.0 and scored _that_ on the LSAT?"

"I have a lot of free time." Adrian laughed a bit. "And see? I'm still not near as good as you. The LSAT score doesn't mean everything like they say. I bet you had a 4.0 too at the University of Kentucky."

"Yeah but I didn't double major and I wasn't in the 99.9th percentile." Blaine said, his hazel eyes wide. "You're like Einstein. Where'd you go to college?"

"University of Colorado Boulder."

"I have never even heard of that." Blaine said, looking confused. "I feel like I was just knocked down five smart pegs or something."

"Yeah, right. Now that you've picked your game back up in school, nobody else stands a chance at number one in any of the first year classes." Adrian rolled his eyes.

"Well if I don't find a new roommate soon, I may get evicted and have to move to Westerville, Ohio. Then someone can take my place." Blaine snorted. "Do you know anyone who needs a roommate?"

"Not a guy. Are you or Wes against rooming with a girl?"

"I'd room with an ape over my old roommate." Blaine muttered, saving himself from sounding immature for not using the name Asshole.

"She goes to Harvard for a graduate degree in the Sciences department. Her name is AJ. She won't be able to meet for three weeks, though. Family emergency so she's in Oregon. I can give her your number?"

"Please do. Is she nice?"

"Yes. She's awesome." Adrian nodded. "We went to undergrad together in Colorado. She was in a few of my electives. She's a close friend."

"Good enough for _me_. I'm sure she'll want to meet Wes and me but she can probably have it. She can even have the big bathroom… to herself. I'm _desperate_." Blaine said.

"Wow. You must really be desperate. I've seen how stuffed the bathroom is and it's the big one you're in now, right?" Adrian laughed and pulled out his phone, tapping out a text message. "There. She probably won't answer right away but I'll let you know what she says?"

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Blaine let out a relieved sigh and then pointed to Adrian's notebook. "So, do you feel better about it?"

"Yes and no." Adrian shrugged. "Some stuff is just harder to absorb, I guess. Sometimes it's harder for me to find the flaws than other people."

"Well you majored in Philosophy. Try to analyze it the same way." Blaine suggested and tapped his fingers on the table. "This is all the basics anyway. It's meant to be practice for next year."

"I still worry sometimes." Adrian admitted.

"Oh, come on. You're the fourth highest student in our year." Blaine rolled his eyes. "You're fine. You'll be fine."

"Do you worry?"

"I do. Sometimes I wonder how I got in." Blaine confessed.

"Well _you_ certainly have nothing to worry about." Adrian reassured him. "How many internships called you for interviews? Each one you applied to?"

"Yeah. I'm hoping I get the CMJ one."

"Hey, I interviewed with them too. So I hope you _don't_ get it." Adrian teased.

"They had three spots open." Blaine laughed.

"Oh, okay. Well I hope we both get it then." Adrian grinned, taking another drink of his Sprite. "You seem to be feeling better today. You're more talkative."

"I kind of _do_ feel better." Blaine sat up a little straighter. "Not great, but…"

"Hey, anything is progress. It takes time." Adrian nodded. "You're doing well. Go at your own pace."

"Everyone else is trying to throw me out to the dogs. I had an intervention earlier this week." Blaine sighed.

"That just means your friends care." Adrian smiled, although it looked more apologetic than anything. "You'll get there eventually."

"Thanks." Blaine forced a smile back. "Hey, I should probably go. I didn't get much sleep last night. And I need to straighten up my room, de-clutter stuff."

"You're onto the clearing out stage?" Adrian asked.

"I'm going to try to get rid of everything that screams Kurt." Blaine sighed. "I promised Wes and David I'd do it this week."

"If you get too upset, stop and finish another time." Adrian gave him a sympathetic look. "I'll see you in class tomorrow, alright?"

"Alright." Blaine nodded as he gathered his stuff. "Have a good night."

"You too." Adrian waved. "Text me if you need to vent or anything."

"Thanks." Blaine looked at him, feeling a _real_ smile come. Adrian really was one of the nicest people he'd met at Harvard so far—you know, apart from the girls that were too clueless to realize he was gay.

"Anytime." Adrian smiled again. "Bye."

"Bye." Blaine said and put his bag over his shoulder before leaving the restaurant.

* * *

"Look at you, smiling ear to ear." Kurt laughed, making his way towards Alec a few days later.

"Eric graduates tonight." Alec beamed. "Last night we had dinner with his parents and sister. He tried on his robes. I swear I almost cried."

"Aww!" Kurt sat down by him. "Are you leaving straight after class?"

"In the middle. I already had it approved." Alec bounced in his seat a bit, laughing. "You'd think my own child was graduating or something. He's just so _happy_ and that makes me happy. He's worked so hard and he's going to be a _doctor_ tonight. In six hours."

Kurt smiled, trying to push the voice in the back of his head away—the voice that kept saying he wouldn't have felt the same happiness for Blaine if they were the ones facing a graduation. Which made him feel incredibly guilty, but this was partially why they had broken up. Distance and feelings were getting in the way of things that should have been there. This was an example of why the breakup had been the right decision.

 _It wasn't the right decision,_ the voice in the back of his head said. _That's just what you tell yourself to help you sleep at night._

"How are you? What's been going on?" Alec asked cheerfully.

"You may call me crazy but… I think I want to reach out to Blaine." Kurt sighed, looking him in the eyes.

"You're right. I am going to call you crazy. You're crazy." Alec said. "Why would you do that? You know he doesn't want to talk."

"I need closure… and I'm sure he does too." Kurt responded. "I mean, I can barely sleep at night. My dad has threatened to go through my room because he found out I've been taking Ambien to sleep."

Alec shook his head. "Don't."

"Don't?"

"Don't call him. It's too soon."

"It's been a month."

"He just deleted you off Facebook and closed accounts. He's trying to move on. If you go and start trying to contact him again, it's going to confuse him and that will upset him. He's at the end of the semester at Harvard. Think if the roles were reversed—he called it off and called you right before the Fashion Show." Alec shook his head again. "I understand you want closure. I really, really do. But it's crud timing. If you _have_ to talk to him, Kurt, wait until after his finals. Give him time to move on before you go opening barely closed wounds."

Kurt rubbed his face. "You're right."

"I know I am." Alec looked him in the eyes. "Don't do it, Kurt. Not yet at least."

"Fine. I won't." Kurt agreed and sighed softly.

"Okay." Alec nodded. "What are you going to be up to tonight?"

"Color coding my room with post its, deciding what to take to New York and what to leave in Lima." Kurt responded, shrugging. "I also have to take Kreacher to the groomers. His hair is getting way out of hand."

"He's so cute." Alec laughed. "I wish Eric wasn't allergic to dogs or I'd have twenty."

"Eric doesn't want kids and you can't have a dog?" Kurt asked teasingly. "What in the world do you see in him?"

"Love does crazy things to the brain." Alec shook his head again, this time smiling.

"Sure does." Kurt nodded, pursing his lips as the professor came in. Too bad it hadn't worked out well for him. "Have a safe trip to Toledo, okay?"

"Thanks." Alec smiled, patting his arm before turning his attention to the professor.

Kurt glanced down at his phone, the message he'd been drafting to Blaine, and pushed delete.

Alec was right, after all.

It really wasn't the best time for closure.

But maybe that was because Kurt wasn't ready to completely accept that it was over himself.

That was a story for later, though.

* * *

"None, zip, nada." Wes announced the next night, plopping down on Blaine's bed and cuddling up to him.

"I'm reading." Blaine said, trying to wave him back. "Scoot over some."

"You're getting your dress pants wrinkled." Wes teased, but scooted back to give Blaine some personal space.

"Nada on what?" Blaine asked, not looking up from his textbook.

"The roommate front. I asked around but nobody knows anyone needing a roommate."

"Adrian knows a girl who might be interested." Blaine said. "He gave her my number but she's out of town. She told him she'd get in touch with me later."

"A _girl_? Are you serious?" Wes groaned. "What if I've had sex with her?"

"Remember when you went to UCLA to be a Music Theory major with no sex experience?" Blaine laughed. "Go back to that mindset. We need rent money, Wes. Your dad can't keep fronting Asshole's portion."

"It's only the second month he's had to."

Blaine's smile faded. "Seriously, Wes. If it comes down to rooming with girl, we need to do it. And it might not be that bad."

"That's easy for _you_ to say. You won't want to fuck her." Wes huffed.

"Did I want to fuck our last roommate?" Blaine asked.

"I don't know. Did you?" Wes asked.

Blaine rolled his eyes and then looked at him.

"Fine."

"She'll have to get the big bathroom, you know?" Blaine pointed out.

"So we're back to sharing a bathroom _and_ have to share the small one? Your freaking hair products are taking _over_." Wes whined.

"Would you rather share with a girl?"

"Same difference probably." Wes scowled. "I am displeased but whatever. At least if I walk in on you, we've got the same junk. I guess anything is better than living with that homophobic douche."

"Really?" Blaine asked, eyes lighting up.

"Why are you so excited?"

"If you're really okay with it, this is one more thing off of my obnoxiously long to do list." Blaine shuddered. "You don't want to see the list. Believe me. Even one thing off of it is reason for excitement."

"Your life must really suck if you're excited our last option is moving in with a girl." Wes dramatically sighed. "I'm going to go and buy some alcohol. Preference?"

"Vodka. And Rum. Ooh, get it all. Just get it all." Blaine pulled his credit card out of his wallet and thrust it in Wes' direction.

"Oooh, you have American Express? Way to move up in the world, Blainers."

"Debt, woo!" Blaine said, although it sounded very unenthusiastic. He looked down as his phone began to ring.

"Who is that?" Wes asked, looking at the number.

Blaine held up a finger and left his bedroom.

"Rude." Wes scoffed teasingly, pulling Blaine's book onto his lap and skimming through it until Blaine came in. "Oh, wow. You look _happy_."

"That was the internship I wanted and _I got one of the spots!_ " Blaine exclaimed.

"That's _awesome_!" Wes jumped up. "Congrats, Blaine!"

"Thanks!" Blaine grinned. "Should I text Adrian and see if he got the other position or wait until I see him tonight?"

"You're seeing him tonight?" Wes asked, surprised. "Again?"

"Yeah. We have a mock trial in three weeks but he has a big thing due in two for another class so we're going to get a head start." Blaine nodded.

"You two are hanging out a lot more than you used to."

"Well it's the end of the school year. There's more work." Blaine explained. "Plus, I think he's worried about me. I don't know why all of you are. I've told everyone that I'm fine a million times."

"And even _you_ don't believe that. You're just trying to fake it until you make it." Wes frowned.

"I believe that was what you said to do. Was it not?" Blaine asked and looked down. "I'm trying to move past it, alright? I mean I just returned the ring. I cleared my room of all things Kurt-esque. It's not like a switch I can flip… and I understand the worrying and I know you want me to move on but… I have to do it at my pace. You need to trust me to do that and to come to you when I need comfort…"

"I draw the line at you not sleeping or eating, though. If it gets back to that, I'm stepping in." Wes said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "And I know you and Adrian are becoming _real_ friends, not just study buddies, and… I think he's good for you. I'm glad you've got him. And he seems really cool. I like him."

Blaine smiled. "He's a good friend… but he's _just_ a friend. So don't get any ideas."

"Are we talking like David just a friend or Old Kurt just a friend?" Wes asked, eyebrow arching.

"Like David just a friend." Blaine promised, holding out his pinky. "Pinky swear."

"Really?" Wes asked, looking at Blaine as though he were crazy.

"I'm very fragile, Wes. Don't leave me hanging." Blaine grinned.

Wes linked pinkies with him. "Tell David about this and you _die_."

* * *

It was done.

Exams finished, portfolio complete, and pieces for the fashion show more perfected than they would ever be.

Kurt should have felt a sense of relief but instead he sat on his bed, chin on his knees, staring out his window.

The last few days he had done really well not thinking about Blaine, how Blaine was probably preparing for finals, how maybe in two weeks' time he would be in Westerville, how maybe he'd stay in Boston and maybe… meet someone. Maybe he'd already met someone new?

Kurt sighed, pushing himself back until his back was rested against the headboard.

He was _graduating_ in a little over a week. Why wasn't he excited, solidifying plans for his New York trip with Alec?

Instead he was sitting here, thinking about Blaine, missing Blaine, the same thing he'd done since August. The whole point of the break up was so he wouldn't be miserable without Blaine and, granted, _most_ of the days had been good and positive.

Today, however, was not one of those days.

He crossed his room, pulled open his drawer, pulling out a framed picture of he and Blaine. He stared at it for several long seconds before tracing Blaine's face.

And that's when it hit him.

When he was in New York, he was going to do it.

Maybe not on his visit with Alec. Maybe it wouldn't be until he had moved in.

But somehow, someway, he was going to do it.

He was going to go to Boston.

He had to see Blaine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am aware David has crossed a line in this chapter-and he's aware he has done it too. There is reason behind this, past "Blaine's friends attacking Kurt." If you've read Defining Moments (on Fanfiction.net), you can see why he's extra protective of Blaine. Rest assured, this will be addressed later on in the story. Next chapter Kurt and Blaine will see each other again. I'm already well into it and, as usual, keep an eye on Tumblr. I usually post how far along I am and sneak peaks. I hope to have it out soon since I'm using some vacation hours this week, so keep an eye out. Also wondering if anyone has caught on what is going on with their new (potential) roommate. If not, believe me, you'll catch on soon enough. I can't wait for this to go down!


	14. Chapter 14

"What do you mean, you can't stay? DJ or AJ or whatever is coming to meet us about the room." Blaine sputtered two and a half weeks later. He had been sitting down and anxiously watching the time since Adrian's friend was supposed to be coming soon. He'd been under the _impression_ Wes was taking a shower to look presentable for the possible roommate but, really, who was he kidding? He should have known Wes better than that. "We need to _both_ be here."

"A girl is a girl. I could care less. If you like her, give her the room. If not, we'll find someone else. Dad already gave us rent money in case and said to use it on food if we find a roommate." Wes said, tugging on jeans over his boxers. "Oh, crap. There's a hole in them."

Blaine wrinkled up his nose. "Do you _have_ to walk around with only boxers?"

"What? Don't you like my bod?" Wes winked before pulling a t-shirt over his head.

"Wes, are you really leaving?" Blaine whined. Wes had complained for three whole days and suddenly gone quiet about it. He _really_ should have seen this coming.

"Yep. Someone's car broke down and they asked me for a ride."

"A girl?" Blaine scoffed.

" _The_ girl, Blaine." Wes pulled on a wind breaker over his t-shirt and went to his mirror, checking out his hair.

"I hate you so much." Blaine groaned, messing his hair up as he walked past Wes to leave.

"You can stand to be social with someone that isn't me or Hot Boy for long enough to decide if you want to live with her. You'll survive." Wes said, clearly not caring what Blaine wanted.

"It would be different if it was legit. You just want to do it because it's one step closer to getting in her pants." Blaine scoffed. "Fine, fine. Go. But if you don't like her and I invite her to move in, it's your damn fault."

"There is no like and not like. There is only to fuck or not to fuck." Wes said, grabbing his keys. "I'll be back in about two hours… three if I get lucky."

Blaine rolled his eyes as the door closed.

It opened back up right away. "Get it? Did you get it? That was a good one, wasn't it?"

"Wes, go." Blaine sighed, shaking his head as the door closed again.

_Maybe it's a good thing Wes won't be here_ , Blaine thought to himself. After all, if Wes liked—sorry, _wanted to fuck_ — her, then she may have declined the offer. They really had no other option, though. This had to work. Wes might have been okay with his parents paying part of their rent but _Blaine_ wasn't. Blaine didn't like to rely on people. Look where it got him— _No. Not going there. Not today._

He made his way into the living room to straighten up but of course it was perfect already. He'd been cleaning almost obsessively since summer had begun. He had always been sort of a neat freak (when time allowed), but he wasn't sure what exactly was making it worse now. Was it not trying to think about how angry he was at Kurt for everything they'd ever gone through (and how angry he was that he was so immature)? Or was it nerves about starting his new internship in three days? Or could it have been the fact that they needed a roommate? More than likely, though, Blaine was just a wreck.

He was a wreck, truth be told. However he would have taken the anger that had replaced the sadness and emptiness any day. He did feel bad that his temper was shorter when it came to Wes, but he couldn't really help it. And, as Wes so cheerfully and loudly pointed out every time Blaine was rude, he was only treating Wes that way because they were bros—which Blaine took to mean 'You know I'll still love you know matter what you do' but whatever.

He wandered into the kitchen to wash their lunch dishes when he got a text.

_We may be a little early. Is that okay?_

**Sure,** Blaine typed out to Adrian, opting to shove the dishes in the dishwasher and close it. At least _she_ wouldn't be able to see the mini mess.

Not five minutes later, he heard Adrian's familiar knock.

"Hey-lo." Adrian said, stepping in when Blaine opened the door. "Ready for Monday?"

"No. You had orientation today. How was it?"

"Easy peasey." Adrian promised, putting on a wide smile. "This is AJ."

"Hi." Blaine forced a cheerful smile and waved at the pretty blond girl that was standing next to Adrian. "I'm Blaine Anderson."

"AJ Johnson. Well, my name is Alicia but everyone calls me AJ. I kind of hate my name." The girl, AJ, smiled nervously. She looked at Blaine and then spoke again. "My other roommate got kicked out of Harvard so I'm moving. I don't have enough money to pay for my current one… You're not going to get kicked out are you?"

"I hope not." Blaine laughed.

"He's really sweet." Adrian reassured AJ and then looked at Blaine. "And he likes to read. See? You two have stuff in common. And his roommate is really funny."

"Mostly he tries." Blaine added. "He's a lot more likely to get kicked out than I am."

The girl's eyes widened.

"I'm joking. He jokes a lot and likes to have fun, but he's very serious about his schooling." Blaine said. "Do you… want to see the house?"

"Sure." AJ smiled.

"Hey, I'm going to use the restroom if you don't care." Adrian headed down the hall, although Blaine was pretty sure he was really just trying to get Blaine and AJ together alone.

"This is really nice… and clean. I'm surprised."

"I try to clean. When I have time. My roommate… well, if I throw a fuss he'll clean." Blaine laughed.

"Do you like your roommate?"

"We've been best friends since we were fourteen, so a tiny bit, I guess." Blaine shrugged one shoulder.

AJ stood and took in her surroundings as she talked with Blaine.

"You'd get the big bathroom and that bedroom right there." Blaine said. "You can have it if you want it."

_Please. Take it. Someone needs to take it,_ Blaine mentally added.

"Great. Okay." She smiled at him nervously. "Adrian says you two are nice and you seem nice enough, so okay."

"Great." Blaine said, forcing a smile and heading down the stairs with her. He turned the corner to greet Adrian again, pretty sure he heard her say, " _I am seriously moving in with the hottest guy at Harvard. Oh. My. God."_

"Did she…?" Blaine whispered.

"Oh boy." Adrian shook his head.

"Does she…?"

"I didn't tell her." Adrian shrugged.

"You know what? I don't even care. I just need a drink." Blaine mumbled as AJ looked around the living room and hall.

Adrian snorted, sitting at Blaine's kitchen table. "I see you've been obsessively cleaning."

Blaine wandered to the dishwasher, kicking it so that the door would open.

"That is _full._ How do you two go through that many dishes?" Adrian gasped.

"Well the dishes are Wes' responsibility. So I wait until it's that full before I just do it." Blaine shrugged.

Adrian let out a loud laugh. "You can come do mine if you want. Maybe we should start studying at my place instead of in public."

"You just want me to clean your house." Blaine rolled his eyes, closing the dishwasher and putting it on rinse—running it through rinse before putting in the soap would probably be necessary since Wes liked to not clean his dishes off before putting them in the sink.

Adrian grinned.

"So… What have you been up to?" Blaine asked, sitting by him at the table.

"Nothing. Gary went home for the summer so I'm bored out of my freaking mind. So bored that I painted my dressers."

"Why didn't you go home?"

"I didn't leave to go back every holiday." Adrian shrugged. "Thanksgiving and Christmas suffices for me. Why didn't you?"

Blaine gave an uncomfortable laugh.

"Enough said." Adrian looked up when AJ wandered in.

"I can't believe two guys live here and it's this neat. It's amazing." She said again.

"Yes well we know they're clean." Adrian stood. "Are you going to move in?"

"I'll buy you an ice cream from Dairy Queen. I'll buy you one a week for a year." Blaine said from the table.

"A girl never says no to ice cream." AJ smiled at him. "Sure, I'll move in. Are you sure I don't need to meet your other roommate, though?"

"Nah. He trusts my judgment." Blaine smiled back.

"Great. You've got my number. Just text me in the next few days and I'll come over so we can decide bills and whatnot?" She asked.

"Sounds good." Blaine nodded, waving his phone. "Talk to you later."

"Alright. See you later, Adrian." AJ waved and showed herself out.

"'I'll buy you ice cream for a year?' Are you that oblivious to what that sounded like?" Adrian asked, tilting his head.

"Huh?"

"You don't talk to girls much, do you?" Adrian actually laughed.

"No. Kurt does." Blaine shrugged and then blinked. "Did."

"He's not _dead_." Adrian said.

"Yeah." Blaine sighed. "Well, hey, thanks for finding me a roommate. I appreciate it."

"No problem." Adrian stood. "I better get going. I have a date tonight."

"A date?"

Adrian cringed. "Don't ask who. I'm a terrible people pleaser. It's the worst thing about me."

"Who?" Blaine asked, perking up.

"Please don't." Adrian cringed more, looking away.

"No." Blaine gasped. "Harry?"

"Fuck, it's worse than Harry." Adrian moaned. "Daniel."

"Wait. Daniel's gay?" Blaine asked, eyebrow arching.

"Has anyone told you that you're one of the most oblivious people ever? " Adrian teased. "It's kind of adorable."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "He's seriously gay?"

"Yeah and he asked me out. It was sweet."

"Do you like him?"

"No. He was so nervous and proud of himself, though, that it was hard to say no." Adrian cringed once again. "He's just so _quiet_ and boring."

"You've never even worked on a project with him. You don't know. He may be exciting." Blaine shrugged. "What if he's an escort? What if he grew up in a freak show circus?"

"Right." Adrian rolled his eyes this time.

"You never know. It's the quiet ones you have to look out for." Blaine grinned.

"Yeah. I suppose you're right." Adrian laughed.

"You might like him." Blaine said, tone more serious. "Give it a chance. Especially if he was that sweet."

"I know. It's why I'm going." Adrian shrugged one shoulder. "Besides, he's kind of cute. He's cuter out of school attire."

"And it is summer." Blaine pointed out.

Adrian nodded, grabbing his phone off of the kitchen table. "Call or text me tomorrow. We'll go running or go to the soccer field. If you want."

"Yes, please." Blaine groaned. "I'm tired of reorganizing my books."

"I get up early so call whenever. Talk to you then."

"Good luck! But not _too_ much luck. You shouldn't on the first date!" Blaine called as he left, shaking his head when Adrian let out a loud laugh and said something that sounded a lot like, "Right."

Blaine looked down at his own phone, checking his text messages. Of course there was none because it wasn't like he had a boyfriend to text him, Wes was out trying to get laid, and David was probably off with Mercedes. And as if he had _family_ to call.

"Guess I'll organize my closet." He sighed, standing and going to his room.

It was going to be a long day.

***LTC***

It had been three weeks since Kurt's graduation and he had _finally_ made the big move from Lima, Ohio into Quinn's small apartment right in the middle of New York City. After unloading everything Kurt had brought with him from both his Lincoln Navigator and Burt's truck, his dad spoke.

"Are you sure that's everything?"

"Yes. We both checked twice." Kurt nodded, looking at his father.

Burt let out a deep breath, looking back at Kurt. "I'm proud of you, kid."

Kurt felt himself smile. "Thanks."

Burt put his hands in his pockets and walked onto the balcony, looking down. "It's so loud. I don't know how you're gonna get any sleep at night."

"I'm sure I'll get used to it." Kurt watched Burt.

"I guess you'd have to." Burt chuckled, stepping up to Kurt. He put one hand on Kurt's shoulder and then pulled him into a hug. "You made it, Kurt. You're in New York."

Kurt hugged his father back, taking in a deep breath, trying to not think about how the last time he'd moved out Blaine had been there with him. It was scarier moving out alone. Quinn was there, of course. His friends and his aunts were close. But it wasn't the same. Not at all.

"You can always come home, Kurt." Burt said gruffly into Kurt's unstyled hair (they'd been moving stuff, after all). "You won't, but… you know you can."

"I know, Dad." Kurt whispered, fighting tears.

"I'm gonna miss you, kid. When am I gonna see you again?"

"I already told you I'd come in July. I have to go to the Warbler Ball for charity for Alzheimer's." Kurt reminded him before sighing. "Once a Warbler, always a Warbler."

"You still gonna go to that thing?" Burt looked surprised.

"Yeah. I mean it _is_ for charity… and Alec said he would go with me since Blaine and I clearly won't be going together as planned." Kurt nodded, looking down. "So I'm going to go."

"Well good for you." Burt nodded.

"I'll come again before the school year starts." Kurt added. "And we can Skype."

"I can't figure out those computers." Burt pulled back, waving his hand in the air. "Maybe you can Kype with Carole."

"Skype." Kurt laughed, wiping his eyes.

"That." Burt chuckled. "If you want to talk to your old Dad, you'll have to pick up a phone. Don't do that texting junk either. You and Finn and Blaine kill me with that. And then Blaine corrects it and sends it back before sending his answer."

Kurt let out another laugh because Blaine had always done that to him too.

"You scared?"

"Terrified." Kurt admitted, taking a deep breath.

"Going after dreams are scary." Burt nodded. "But you'll be fine. And you can…"

"Always come home." Kurt finished. "But I won't."

"You'll be happy. You've always been better than Lima, Kurt." Burt pulled Kurt in for another hug. "But we're all going to miss you a hell of a lot."

"I'll visit." Kurt promised. "I'll visit on every holiday and on long weekends. I'm going to miss you all too."

Burt tightened his grip on Kurt. "You've got the extra credit card."

"Yes. _For emergencies_. And the cash which I promise to not touch unless I absolutely have to. But I'm paying you back for anything I buy as soon as I have a real job." Kurt nodded, taking another deep breath. This was it. His dad was about to leave. He was about to be on his own. So this is why Blaine had sat alone a lot for two days before leaving for Boston. This was _terrifying_.

"If you need anything, I'm a call away." Burt pulled back, tightly clutching his keys. "Carole and I both. Your aunts are a ten minute walk way and they're expecting dinner with you tonight."

"I know, dad." Kurt's voice was soft.

"We'll be seeing you in a few weeks?"

"Yeah." Kurt nodded.

"I'll see myself out, bud. I know you've got a lot of unpacking to do and I'm sure your friends want to catch up." Burt hugged him one last time. "I love you, Kurt."

"I love you too, Dad." Kurt hugged him back. "Call me when you make it home so I know you made it back alright."

"I'm going to miss you acting like the parent." Burt sighed a bit, pulling away.

"Don't worry. That's why we have phones and… _Kype_." Kurt forced a grin.

"Bye, Kurt." Burt gave a sad sort of smile.

"Bye, Dad." Kurt stood, watching Burt leave. He heard Burt say a goodbye and then went to the open box. On the top was a card—a graduation card from Blaine, which he had received the morning of the fashion show.

He hadn't gone to see Blaine on his and Alec's trip two weeks before. He'd _wanted_ to, but Alec had caught him trying to leave. And sure, maybe it had been a stupid idea anyway. What, was he going to just show up and hope Blaine was there? Hell, Blaine had been planning to move back to Ohio for the summer—with _him_. So, what if Blaine was in Westerville with Wes? He knew David was still in New York so he couldn't be with David's family.

He opened the letter. More than an entire month waiting for some kind of interaction from Blaine, anything.

And all he gets is, "Congratulations on graduating—B."

And it wasn't even in his handwriting. It was stupid Times New Roman.

Kurt closed it and tossed it back into the box. He had more important stuff to do than to dwell on Blaine.

Even thinking that hurt more than he'd even admit.

***LTC***

"No." Wes said the second the front door opened.

"Oh. My. God."

Blaine, who was on the couch, looked up. "What?"

"This is your roommate?" AJ asked at the same time Wes asked, "Please tell me this isn't her."

"This is AJ." Blaine chirped. "She's in the sciences too."

"No. Her name is Alicia Johnson. Her name is _Alicia_." Wes sneered. "She is in the Biochemistry program."

"Is that…"

"My partner." Wes said shortly.

"O… _Oh_." Blaine looked between the two. "Well she already signed the lease, soooo…"

"Can we have a moment, please?" Wes asked before forcibly dragging Blaine out of the room. "I have told you her name a gazillion times! You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

Blaine yanked his arm free. "Newsflash. I don't listen to you talking about girls period. If I _did_ , I would go crazy. I told you her name was AJ."

"You did not."

"I did so." Blaine scoffed. "You don't have to _fuck her_ , Wes. It's okay."

"I cannot live with her. She is rude and obnoxious."

"She seems really nice and _quiet_." Blaine argued. "You just can't stand the fact that she is on your level intellectually and she's a girl."

"Cut the crap. Get rid of her _please_." Wes whined. "I can barely handle study group and classes with her. I cannot and will not live with her. Make her leave."

Blaine walked out.

"Thank you, Blaine." Wes sighed in relief.

"Can I help you bring your boxes up?" Blaine asked cheerfully, going straight up to Alicia.

"Traitor." Wes huffed.

"Hey, I'm not exactly happy about this either."

"Well what kind of person gets a house without knowing who will be living there?" Wes scoffed.

"The same kind of person who lets their roommate pick a new roommate without meeting them?" AJ challenged.

"I had important things to do."

"Trying to get into Jenna's pants? How's that working out for you?" AJ smiled sweetly.

"The paperwork has already been sent to the landlord, Wes. Now shut up and grab a box." Blaine moved past Wes to carry a large box up the stairs. He then added in a falsely cheerful voice, "Maybe after we can play games to get to know each other."

"I will trip you and make you fall down those stairs, Anderson." Wes called after him. He then looked at AJ, cringing. "Don't talk to me and I won't talk to you."

"Is it really that hard to be around someone who won't sleep with you, Wes?"

"You tell me, Alicia." Wes smirked.

"Don't call me Alicia." She glared. "You know everyone calls me AJ."

"It's your God given name."

"One, her parents gave it to her. Not God. Two, you refuse to call anyone their real first name. The first person you meet that wants to be called a nickname and you do _this_?" Blaine came back down, grabbing another box. "Just shut up and carry a box up the damn stairs, alright?"

"No need to get testy." Wes glowered, picking up a box. "Just so we're all clear, I am not happy about this."

"Never could've guessed." Blaine made his way upstairs behind AJ.

"Are you sure this won't be a… real problem?" AJ asked Blaine.

"Don't worry. He's leaving in an hour anyway." Blaine reassured her as Wes came in.

"Thank _God_." Wes muttered under his breath, sitting a box down. He fell silent when he saw Blaine's glare. "Sorry, Blainers. Sorry, Alicia."

AJ huffed a bit before stalking out of the room.

***LTC***

Kurt had finally unpacked everything. Not that his bedroom was big enough to hold much, but everyone had to start out small in New York City, right? Eventually he'd have a big house to fill and design but for now… Well, his small apartment with Quinn would have to do.

He had a few hours to himself which meant he was able to call and check in at home. His excuse was that his dad had forgotten to call Kurt and say he'd made it back safely but really… Carole and Melody were his family too and he already missed them bother. Even more than he'd thought he would.

He had barely sat down at his computer after connecting a Skype call with Carole when he heard a loud shriek.

"Hey, Mellie!" Kurt waved excitedly, smiling at her.

"Hey, hon!" Carole laughed, sitting Melody on her lap.

"Hey, Carole!" Kurt smiled. "Did Dad ever make it back? I assume he forgot to call."

"He _did_." Carole nodded and rolled her eyes fondly. "I even reminded him this morning but I guess he still forgot."

"You know, if I'd forgotten to call him after driving across states, he'd kill me." Kurt pointed out, laughing.

"Yes, well, that may be an exaggeration but he'd definitely get onto you." Carole said. "He made it back really late last night, though."

Kurt nodded. "How are things? Since… yesterday."

"Things are good. We've been working on our alphabet today." Carole said. "We have through G memorized."

Kurt gasped. "Oh, wow! That's a lot, Melody. Can you show me?"

" E!" Melody threw her hands in the air and cheered.

"Want to try that again?" Carole laughed.

" E!" She repeated, this time looking annoyed.

"Like I said, we're _working_ on it." Carole smiled, ruffling Melody's hair. "Tell Kurt where we had breakfast this morning."

"Bean Pole!" Melody squealed.

"The Lima Bean?" Kurt asked.

"At the Bean Pole!" Melody huffed.

Kurt snorted.

"And we got a blueberry muffin." Carole said. "And the nice lady gave Melody a free ice cream…. At eleven in the morning… which is probably why she's so rowdy and energetic."

Kurt had to laugh at the expression Carole sent him through the screen. "How nice of her."

"Yes. I'm starting to think that nice lady doesn't like me very much." Carole shook her head. "Mellie, quit squirming. You're not a roly poly bug."

"Am so, mommy." Melody argued.

"Roly poly bugs don't have arms and legs." Kurt pointed out.

Melody then proceeded to pull her arms into her shirt and pull her shirt down over her knees, stretching her shirt out. Kurt resisted the urge to cringe because it was such a cute shirt. How did his sister have such cute clothes, yet treat them like they were from Walmart? "Melody roly poly bug too."

"Well I hope nobody squishes you or feeds you to a lizard or bird." Kurt shrugged one shoulder.

Melody's eyes widened and she straightened out her shirt. "I'm a girl again."

Kurt laughed loudly.

"How is Finn doing?"

"I saw him last night. He and Rachel." Kurt said. "He seemed very… Finn. I think he was a little upset Rachel didn't want to get pizza instead of pasta."

Carole rolled her eyes.

"He seemed happy, though. I think he likes New York. He was cheerful, pointed out stuff to me."

"And Rachel?"

"Annoying and amazing as ever. I don't know how she manages to pull the combination off so well but she does." Kurt answered. "She's driving me nuts with the wedding planning. I saw her for a total of three hours and know more about what goes into a Rachel Berry wedding than anyone would want to know."

Carole laughed again. "Well at least they're both excited."

"Yeah, yeah." Kurt nodded.

"How do you like it? I know you haven't been there too long but is it everything you thought it would be?" Carole asked.

"Almost everything." Kurt frowned a bit and then smiled again. "I like it. I'm excited to start at Parsons. We went and looked around again yesterday. When Alec gets here in a few days we're going to try to find our classes."

"Do you two have some together?"

"Yeah. We have four together I think." Kurt nodded. "I saw Eric for a split second I think."

"Right. He went up a little early for work." Carole nodded. "You didn't get to talk to him?"

"No. It may not have been him, though, I guess. I'll ask when I see him in a few days. I'm helping them move." Kurt explained. "I'll be glad when Alec gets here. It's kind of weird being with Rachel and stuff when I'm used to him, I guess."

"I'm sure you'll feel more at home with them again soon." Carole reassured him.

"You're right." Kurt nodded. "And I still haven't seen Mercedes yet but I'm getting dinner with her and then also dinner with Taylor and Paige… I'm supposed to have dinner with them every night for the rest of my New York life apparently." Kurt laughed.

"You don't mind." Carole smiled at him.

"No. It's like Dad away from Dad." Kurt laughed again. "Plus, they make me laugh. I think Taylor is hoping Quinn and I will get into a big fight and I'll want to move out. But Paige told her if they're getting a kid, they're getting their own and not Dad's."

"Do they want kids?"

"No. Taylor's kid is her bookstore and Paige's is their dog."

"PUPPY!" Melody squealed Kreacher hopped on the bed. "HI, PUPPY!"

Kreacher yipped, putting his paws on the keyboard.

"And _Kreacher_ loves it here." Kurt said. "He enjoys passing delivery boys in the hallways… Most of them are cute, so I enjoy that too."

"The only young boy I ever see is Melody's playmate." Carole said. "I'm okay with that, however."

Kurt snorted. "I'm sure Dad is okay with that too."

"Oh, Burt." Carole shook her head, smiling. "I'll take care of him, you know?"

"I know you will." Kurt said. "But I'm still going to call and harass him about eating and resting… for good measure."

"I expected no less." Carole looked down as Melody slid down the floor and rolled out of the room. "Between you, Finn, and Blaine being gone, I don't know what she's going to do."

"Oh, _she'll_ be fine. You should be worried about you and Dad." Kurt teased.

Carole laughed.

"Hey, Carole, I better get off of here. I need to get ready before I go out with Mercedes." Kurt said after glancing down at his clock. "And I need to feed Kreacher too."

"Alright, hon!" Carole nodded. "Have fun."

"I will. Thanks." Kurt smiled. "Tell Dad I said hello."

"I will." Carole promised. "You call again soon, okay?"

"I promise." Kurt smiled and waved before signing off. He then looked down at Kreacher who stared at the computer, clearly confused. Then again, Kreacher was only used to Kurt and Blaine Skyping together.

"Alright. Let's eat and go potty, Kreacher!" Kurt hopped up, placing his laptop on his desk. "If you beat me to the bowl I'll give you a pretzel."

Kreacher yipped and ran excitedly towards his bowl, tail wagging.

Kurt had an hour to take care of Kreacher, take a shower, and make himself presentable by New York standards before meeting Mercedes.

It would be close, but he was pretty sure he could do it.

***LTC***

"What… is going on?" Blaine asked, coming into his house a week later. He looked down, seeing packed bags.

"SURPRISE!" David yelled, running out of the kitchen.

Wes, who was sitting on the coffee table, grinned.

"Oh, God. If this is another intervention I'm going to kill you both." Blaine threatened.

"Relax, Belle." David chirped. "We're aware that your orientation went well but that you don't start the real work until next week."

"Bummer. That means you'll be home, bored, with nothing to do!" Wes joined in, and Blaine could see this was scripted. Something… Something had been planned.

"Never fear, though. We, your best friends, have that covered." David grinned also.

"That's why I called my dear old Mum and Pop—."

"Mum and Pop?" Blaine arched his eyebrow.

"And had them call a good old friend Tom—."

"The only Tom we know is in Harbor Springs. He keeps the keys for the… summer houses." A grin slowly slid across Blaine's face. "Michigan. We're going to Michigan?"

"I knew that'd get a real smile out of him." Wes hopped up. "We're leaving in half an hour and we won't be back for a week. Your bags are packed. Long enough for you to make sure you have everything you want or need, for us to pack some food, and for me to take my car for a quick oil change."

Blaine plopped onto the carpeted ground, sitting cross legged and pulling open two of his old backpacks. "For real? We're going to Michigan?"

"We know you're doing a lot better than you were the last time I was here." David sat by him. "But we figured you might be even happier if you got away for a while. Everyone knows that Harbor Springs is your happy place."

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Wes grabbed his keys and headed for the door, ruffling Blaine's hair on the way.

"So… the roommate situation…" David snickered when Wes closed the door. "I can't tell if it's sexual tension or if he really can't stand her."

"I don't know. He thinks with that head a lot." Blaine snorted, looking through his packed belongings. "But she hates his guts, David. She asked me how legally binding a rental lease was."

"Well he should have been here when she came." David shrugged. "And she should have wanted to meet both of you before signing anything."

"I feel a little bad but she's been here a week. Watching them go at it is _so_ funny." Blaine laughed. "I feel worse for Adrian because she vents to him five times a day."

"Who is this _Adrian_?" David winked.

"He's my partner in classes. We hang out a lot, though. He runs, plays soccer, he's funny… We get along well." Blaine explained.

"And he's also _gay_."

"It's nothing like that." Blaine promised. "It's too soon for me to even start thinking about new relationships… And we're really just friends. He's attractive but I don't look at him and want to kiss him or anything."

"Well is there anyone you have your eye on?"

"No." Blaine sighed a bit, zipping up the last bag. "I sent Kurt a graduation card."

"Why?" David frowned.

"Because he made a big achievement. Because now his dreams can maybe come true. Because I would have felt bad if I hadn't. Any of those, I don't know." Blaine rubbed his forehead.

"Did he respond?"

"He sent an email. The first sentence was just him thanking me but then he went on about wanting to talk, so I deleted it. Wes went into my trash and read it, though. I'm pretty sure he texted Kurt later…" Blaine bit his lip.

"Don't respond." David instructed. "If you respond, you'll get upset again and—."

"I'm _still_ upset. I feel better but I still feel like my heart's been ripped out of my body. There is no upset _again_." Blaine interrupted.

"I know but—."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to respond. Not yet at least. I'm not ready." Blaine looked down. "I feel like I'd have a breakdown if I saw him or heard his voice… I don't think I could handle it."

"It gets better." David sighed as the front door opened, patting Blaine's leg.

AJ came in, looking confused. "Oh. Hi."

"Hey, AJ." Blaine smiled brightly. "How was work?"

"Work like." She smiled back. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Wes and I are going to Michigan with my friend David. David, this is AJ."

"So you're the one that can't stand Wes." David held out his hand. "I'm David and I sympathize with you entirely."

"I'm not a bad person. He's just an obnoxious asshole who thinks he can have any girl he wants without repercussions and who thinks he can get his way no matter what the circumstances are." AJ said.

"Yep. He's a manslut." David nodded.

"Manslut?" Blaine asked.

"I would agree with that statement." AJ said as Wes came in. Her smile faltered a bit and then say said, trying to sound very composed, "Hello, Wes."

"Hey ho, Alicia."

"Her name is Alicia. God knows he calls everyone else nicknames but she hates it and so that's all he'll call her." Blaine informed David.

"It's like elementary school flirting. Are you going to pull her hair, Wes?" David grinned.

"Ha no." Wes said. "Did you two pack the food?"

"I thought about it really hard but then I decided you should do it." David said.

"And the trip is for me, so I figured that was a get out of jail free card." Blaine added.

"You three can take some of the cake I made." AJ offered.

"And get poisoned?" Wes coughed, clutching his throat.

Blaine, at the same time, groaned and said, " _It tastes like heaven."_

"I apologize for his behavior. He doesn't know how to act around a lady." David said.

"Oh he knows how to act around them when he thinks he'll get in their pants." AJ scoffed.

"Did you say something about cake?" David's eyes lit up.

"I'll get you some." AJ laughed and stood. "Do you want some, Blaine?"

"I just ate but I'll get one for myself for the road." Blaine grinned, looking excited.

"I liked you before but now I _love_ you." David's grin grew as AJ went to the counter.

"Wes can still have some if he'd like to." AJ said, more at him than to him.

"I don't like cake." Wes sulked.

"Oh, Blainers." David shook his head, accepting the plate that AJ was holding out for him. "Approach this with humor. Otherwise they'll probably drive you insane."

"Oh, don't worry. I think it's hilarious." Blaine laughed. "Wes keeps calling me Traitor."

"This cake is _amazing_." David gasped. "I think the only cake I've had that's better is Kurt's."

Blaine's head shot up, mostly out of shock more than anything. He then frowned.

_Don't think about Kurt. Think about other things. Michigan. The lake. School. Anything but Kurt._

"But this is a _very_ close second. Mercedes won't make cake." David continued. "If I want it, I have to buy some from the store."

AJ laughed. "Do you go to Harvard?"

"Oh, no. I'm their friend. I live in New York. I just drove here. We're going to Michigan together. Wes here has a summer house." David said. "I go to med school."

"I wanted to become a doctor but I didn't like the idea of getting sick all the time. I got into two medical schools but turned them down to do BioChemistry."

"So… you two are both… in BioChem?" David let out a laugh. "Meaning you probably see each other every day all day now."

Blaine pushed David out of the way as a shoe flew past their heads.

"I'm sorry. You two have to see the hilarity of the situation." David laughed. "No? Really?"

"Have _you_ lived with him?" AJ asked dryly. "It's been a week and I want to commit a felony."

"He grows on you." Blaine went over, ruffling Wes' hair. "My big Asian friend."

"I will gut you in your sleep." Wes threatened as Blaine pressed a kiss to his face.

"I like _him_. He's a sweetheart." AJ said.

Blaine grinned and plopped on Wes' lap.

"Everybody loves Blaine. He's like a puppy. Wait until you see him drunk. His drunk dancing and singing is _hilarious_." David laughed. "But when both of them are drunk together, it's bad news bears. That's when you want to move all breakable or valuable items, hide out in your room, and hope for the best."

"You seem to have experience."

"David is the DD." Wes remarked, completely unbothered by the fact that Blaine was still sitting on his lap.

"Are they really that bad?"

"Yes. But we don't really get _drunk_ anymore." Blaine said. "Well, he does sometimes. But it's manageable if it's only one of us." He then added, "We haven't burnt down the house _yet_."

"How comforting." AJ looked at them, clearly anxious.

"It's more funny than destructive." David promised. "Wes, go pack."

"You say that like you automatically assume I have nothing packed although we're hitting the road in half an hour… well, we should be leaving now but somebody didn't pack the food… " Wes shook his head.

"I'm sure you haven't packed to leave too, though." Blaine said. "You're just predictable."

"I suppose I have to give you that one." Wes agreed, poking Blaine's side until he stood.

"He's really not so bad." Blaine told AJ as Wes went upstairs, whistling loudly.

"Well I'll believe that when I see it."

…

Blaine woke up early the next morning, confused. He remembered falling asleep, he vaguely remembered something about being woken up and needing ID, and past that… not a whole lot of anything.

He curled up, realizing he was in a bed with someone. But… why was he in bed with someone? He didn't remember crying the night before and Wes only slept in his bed when he was crying.

What… had he done?

He rolled over quickly, sighing in relief when he realized it was just David. They were in a hotel.

"Quit moving." David mumbled, stretching out.

"Where are we?" Blaine whispered, looking around as seeing Wes on the second bed, sprawled across it.

"Canada." David yawned.

" _What?_ " Blaine shot up. "Canada?"

"We saw a sign and made a last minute decision of our last minute trip to go over the border. You fell asleep near Michigan."

"And I got in this bed _how_?"

"You walked to it. Stumbled, really. You really need to stay caught up on your sleep." David yawned. "In a few hours, we'll start driving again. There's a big tourist area and… we're gonna…. Take you."

Blaine watched in amusement as David covered his face and fell back asleep. He then hopped out of bed, grabbing one of the two hotel key cards on the table and leaving the room. It wasn't the nicest hotel but clearly they were only staying a few more hours anyway. He wandered through the halls, trying to not look at the couple having (loud) sex against the ice machine and the two twin girls who looked eerily like the creepy girls in The Shining.

All he wanted to do was find the breakfast buffet (all hotels had them, right?), eat some toast and eggs, and listen to people chatter until he heard someone say "Eh?" He was probably stereotyping but oh well.

He had been sitting alone and silently eating his food for ten minutes when he felt someone sit next to him. He looked up, alarmed, only to see it was Wes. David, still half asleep, sat across from them.

"Heard anyone say 'Eh?' yet?" Wes asked eagerly.

"That is stereotyping." David huffed.

"I haven't yet but I've been waiting for it." Blaine laughed.

"Is the food good?" David asked after rolling his eyes.

"Horrible."

"Beggars can't be choosers." David sighed and went to stand in line.

"Canada, eh?" Blaine grinned.

"Yeah I don't know. We saw a sign on the highway, got in the lane, and voila." Wes laughed. "We've never been out of the country before together. It'll be fun. If we get bored, we'll go to Harbor Springs. Are you disappointed? If you are—."

"No!" Blaine said quickly. "This will be cool. I'm glad you packed my camera."

"I got a picture of the entrance signs for you."

Blaine's eyes lit up excitedly. "Awesome! Thanks!"

Wes laughed again. "So you're happy?"

"Yeah." Blaine nodded, and he truly was. In that moment at least. It was hard to judge whether he would feel happy in a week but the good days were coming more often than they had before.

"Good. That's the point of the trip." Wes smiled, stealing some eggs off of his plate. "You're right. These are _disgusting_."

Blaine laughed, nodding. "I know, right? And I haven't even gotten to hear anyone say 'eh.'"

"Let's ditch this joint." David came back up, stuffing a sausage in his mouth. "I just took an extra sausage and this fat kid is glaring at me."

"On to Toronto!" Wes cheered, standing.

Blaine finished his orange juice and hopped up. "Can we listen to One Direction?"

"No." David and Wes said together. "No."

"You know, if you listen to a song all the way through… they're not _that_ bad."

"They were bad in 2012 and they're still bad today." David protested. "The answer is and shall always be _no_."

"Fine. I'll just listen to it on my iPhone and sing along loudly." Blaine chirped, pulling his phone out of his pocket as they walked towards their room to get their bags. He began to sing out loud. "You don't know-ow-ow you're beautiful, oh oh oh, that makes you beautiful!"

"Nice voice!" Someone called from above them.

"Thanks!" Blaine called, giving David and Wes a confused look. "Do you think that was God?"

"Your voice is good, Blainers, but it isn't _that_ good." Wes snorted, nonchalantly pointing to someone sitting on a stairwell. "I think you were lead soloist for too long. It went to your head."

"Can we get some alcohol tonight?" Blaine asked.

"Oh no. No no no." David said automatically. "No way, Blaine."

"Sounds like an excellent idea." Wes grinned.

"If you two get wasted in Canada and get arrested, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Text a picture of me being arrested to your dad so he can show the whole church congregation on Sunday?" Blaine smiled sweetly.

"Oooh, that'd be good." David agreed. "That would be _really_ good."

"Operation Embarrass Blaine's Father Mission is a-go." Wes declared, unlocking their hotel room door so that they could all go in. "Gentlemen, this is going to be the most exciting trip of our lives!"

"Yeah… Don't think David's getting back up." Blaine said, pointing to David who had plopped on his bed and fallen asleep. "When do we have to be checked out?"

"A few hours… Want to see if we can hear someone say 'Eh?'"

"Do I ever." Blaine walked right back out the door.

…

"This drink is like really, really, really, really good." Blaine said, sitting Indian style on their bed and downing half a bottle of 'the blue one' as he had been calling it because, let's be honest, he'd been too excited to read the bottle before his first of three and he wasn't really in a state to read anything at the moment.

"Why couldn't we drink in a _bar_?" Wes whined, taking a drink of his Vodka.

"Because we're out of the country and I can't even figure out how to get my phone to work here to call for help when you two _get arrested_." David took a drink of his own beer before swiftly reaching over and straightening Blaine's bottle which was about to spill. "Slow down with that stuff. It wasn't cheap."

"I'd—I'd spend my whole life savings on these bottles." Blaine let out a content sigh. "But I can't just transfer it on the computer. I could… do that before, you know? When Kurt and I had our accounts joined. But this bank doesn't _let you_. Well screw that, guys. My old bank was awesome… awesome applesauce."

Wes let out a loud laugh. "What's your middle name?"

"Badass." Blaine stated before downing the rest of his bottle. "Refill!"

"Not yet." David laughed. "You're going to make yourself sick, Blaine."

"It's worth it because this is the best I've felt since spring break." Blaine stumbled off of the bed and bent down, fishing another bottle out of the bag. He looked in the corner of the room, confused, and then dramatically pointed. "Whassat?"

"What?" David looked.

"PULL OUT IRON!" Wes ran over, pulling it down. "IT COMES OFF!"

"Surf! Let's surf!" Blaine cried, stumbling over and nearly tripping over David's shoes.

"Uh, no." David said, rushing over and pulling it up.

"Yes!" Blaine demanded, pulling it back and nearly knocking a lamp over. "s'mine. I found it."

"It belongs to the _hotel_." David corrected.

"Finders keepers, Daviel." Wes said, ducking when the ironing board almost hit him in the head.

"Surf's up!" Blaine ran out of the room.

"Blaine, for the love of God—." David ran out of the room but by the time he made it, Blaine had already ridden the ironing board down a flight of stairs.

There was a loud "BANG!" and then Blaine exclaiming, "That was _totally awesome!"_

"Me next!" Wes said, running down the stairs. "Me next, me next!"

"Prepare to have your mind _blown_!" Blaine ran up the stairs to join David.

"Bla—."

"Down the mother hen, David." Blaine said before leaning over the bannister.

"Alright." Wes said excitedly as he reached the top of the stairs. "If I fly threw that window I just want you to know that Blaine, I think you have an awesome ass and David, you've got an awesome smile. I am not gay but you two are some very attractive mother fuckers."

Blaine fell down laughing.

David sighed. "Last words for your mother?"

"Tell her that I hated her baked chicken. God, it's gross." Wes said before lying on the ironing board and letting himself go. "SHIVER ME TIMBERRRRS!"

Blaine rolled onto his stomach, not even able to make noise because he was laughing so hard.

"God, you two together and drunk is too much." David sat down, patting Blaine's back as he began to cough.

"Guys. Slight problem." Wes said, inching up to them.

"What? David asked, going to look over the banister. "Oh my God."

"So… Blaine… got your credit card?"

Blaine stood shakily and bent over the banister, looking as well. "Holy _shit._ Wes, did you go through the wall?"

"In my head's defense, that wall was very poorly made." Wes said before hiccupping.

"Hold on, guys. I'm getting a picture of this for Facebook." Blaine said, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. "This is the best trip _ever_!"

"Says the one with the credit card." David sighed as the hotel manager walked over, mouth dropping open. "We can explain."

"He did it." Wes said, pointing to Blaine.

"Hey, bro-man-dude, can you move? I'm trying to take a picture." Blaine asked offering a sweet smile.

"Out. Now. Get your stuff and get out." The man said, face reddening.

"Sir yes sir!" Blaine saluted and turned to go back to the room. "Wonder why he's so grumpy."

…

"WAKEY WAKEY EGGS AND BAKEY!"

Blaine groaned two mornings later, pulling the blanket over his head. He'd been hung over the whole previous day (was he really surprised after the amount he'd drank?) and had _wanted_ to sleep in but apparently that wasn't going to happen.

But maybe if he resisted, maybe if he didn't sit up…

"I said," Wes cleared his throat. "WAKEY. WAKEY. EGGS. AND. BAKEY."

Apparently not.

"Not hungry." Blaine mumbled into the mattress.

"It's more of an expression." David laughed. "Sit up."

"Mmmmhno." Blaine nuzzled his pillow. "Nice pillow."

"At least open your eyes." Wes shook his shoulder.

"No." Blaine moaned.

"Fine." Wes said, setting something by Blaine. He felt shaking, but not like someone was trying to wake him up. Like something was scared. Something… little. And hairy.

"What the—." Blaine sat up quickly, looking down.

"It's a puppy." David said as if Blaine needed the clarification.

"What? What did you _do_ to it?" Blaine gasped.

"It was raining out and someone left it alone in a box." David admitted, frowning. "We were going to just call the police but then Wes had an excellent idea."

"That idea was that _you_ need a puppy." Wes supplied. "You two are both in fragile states and who better to take care of a puppy than a puppy himself?"

"What is it? I mean, what type?" Blaine asked.

"A Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever." David said. "I googled it. Look at her big eyes."

Blaine looked down at the puppy, which was still shaking. He then reached down, petting it in an attempt to comfort it. He had fallen in love with it already. "I don't really… have time for a dog."

_But I want it, I want it, I want it…_ He mentally added.

"You've got two roommates. Surely we'll be in and out enough to let it use the bathroom and feed it. Besides, girls love puppies. I'm sure Alicia—."

"AJ." Blaine corrected. He lifted the dog, looking under it. "And it is a she."

"Would be more than willing to help." Wes finished without correcting himself. After all, who didn't want to be called by their given name, right?

"Can you even take a dog over country borders?" Blaine asked warily.

"I mean, it's not like people carry around doggy birth certificates." Wes snorted.

"Well we should probably take her to a vet." Blaine said, carefully lifting the tiny puppy up and surveying it closely. "She has cuts too. Oh, you poor thing."

"Told you." David coughed, nudging Wes. "Ten dollars, bro."

"I need to quit making bets on Blaine. He's too unpredictable." Wes sighed.

"Did you really think I'd turn her down?" Blaine looked up, almost offended. "Look at her little face."

"No. I said that you'd opt to not take her to a vet. _I_ think she looks fine." Wes rolled his eyes. "It's just a cut."

"She could have hypothermia **.** You said she was out in a box in the rain." Blaine said slowly, sitting the puppy on his lap. "I'm going to look up vet offices and have her looked at."

"Should we tell the hotel?" David asked, sitting down by Blaine and gently petting the puppy. He then shot a look between Blaine and Wes. "All we need is to get kicked out of _another_ one."

"No. She's been silent the whole time." Wes said as Blaine scrolled through the internet on his phone, deciding to not acknowledge the last comment. "Any time she's made noise, it's been really quiet."

"Hi, yes. I need to schedule an appointment for a puppy… I don't know how old she is. My friends found her outside in the rain in a box… She's a…" Blaine looked to David.

"Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever." David said slowly enough so Blaine could repeat it with him.

"Yeah… Perfect… Thank you." Blaine said cheerfully, hanging up the phone. He then frowned. "Poor puppy."

"You should name it Winnie." David said, petting it still.

"And I'll call it Weenie." Wes let out an immature laugh.

"If you call my dog Weenie I'll kick your Asian ass." Blaine threatened.

" _Awww_." Wes cooed. " _My dog_. Blaine's in love."

"Winnie it is?" David asked, rolling his eyes at Wes.

"Sure." Blaine nodded, laying back and setting the puppy on his chest. "You're so tiny."

"Just like you." Wes grinned again.

"I know where you sleep." Blaine glared.

"You don't dare go in my room in case I've got a girl in there." Wes waved his hand in the air. "That's not a very good threat."

"I know where you keep you music collection. I share a bathroom with you and have access to hair bleach. I know how to add butter to your food to make you gain weight. I—." Blaine began.

"Basically," David interrupted. "He is implying he can make you sorry and lately he's been testy, so don't mess with him."

"What he said." Blaine carefully sat up. "We have to be there in an hour so I'm going to shower. Can I trust you with the puppy?"

"We had it for two hours while you slept. I think we're capable." David said.

"Yeah. I know the whole Chinese people like to eat dogs and cats thing is a thing, but my mom wouldn't teach me how to cook dog." Wes teased. "Plus, I'm fonder of Pomeranian meat."

"Speaking of Chinese things," David interrupted. "We need to stop by Ohio so your mom can make some seaweed. That stuff is _so good_."

Blaine stood. "Wes, David's uncle tried to get you to eat some squirrel and you nearly cried when you saw him shoot it."

"It's just inhumane." Wes snapped. "Don't bring that up, alright? I still have nightmares about it shrieking as he put it in the boiling water."

" _That would be lobsters."_ Blaine blinked at him. "And I'm pretty sure you've never seen lobsters made since you're _highly allergic to seafood."_

"Whatever. You Americans are weird with your animal killing habits, alright? Can't we just stick to cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets and one turkey a year for Thanksgiving and then some ham for Christmas? Thank you for traumatizing me, Blaine. I greatly appreciate it." Wes huffed.

"You're Amercian." David snickered. "I can't tell if you're joking or not but either way, it's kind of funny."

"Yeah, no seaweed for you, Pocahontas." Wes snapped.

"Why did you just call me Pocahontas?"

"Because it's the first thing that came to mind."

Blaine just shook his head, walking into the small bathroom to take a shower.

For as much as he missed Kurt, there was one thing he knew for sure. He was handling life okay without Kurt… not enjoying, but handling.

Blaine wouldn't have been able to _cope_ with losing David or Wes.

And there was no maybe to that.

***LTC***

"Burt has called every day since you got here asking if one of us has checked in with you." Taylor said right as Kurt made his way into her and Paige's apartment.

"How do you _always_ look so cute?" Paige whined. "I bet even your pajamas are fashionable."

"Of course they are." Kurt said, giving an impish smile. It slowly faded as he sat at the table.

"Did you have fun with Rachel and Mercedes today?" Paige asked.

"I guess. It's still kind of weird because I haven't seen them much except for holidays." Kurt admitted. "But it was fun. I got to see where they go to school and work… and Finn's here, so I got to see him."

"I didn't know Finn was here!" Taylor said.

"Yeah. He and Rachel are getting married soon and then he'll be here permanently. He's mostly been in Ohio saving up money. He got a job after he graduated OSU last year and he helps at the garage a lot." Kurt explained.

"How do you like your apartment?" Paige asked eagerly. "It already looks so much nicer than mine and Taylor's and we've been here for months."

"I like it. I still want to do some stuff to it, though… Providing Quinn is alright with it. She spends most of the time with her boyfriend so I barely see her." Kurt kind of shrugged.

"So you've had a lot of time to yourself?" Taylor asked. "Is it a nice break after the fashion show and everything?"

"Not really. I keep thinking about the break up." Kurt sighed.

"Have you talked to him yet?" Paige sat down by him.

"I tried for a long time but he hasn't been answering… He did send me a congratulations card. All it said was 'Congratulations on graduating.'" Kurt frowned. "I sent an email and got notification that it was opened but he never responded."

"He just needs time." Taylor said.

"If it's meant to be, Kurt, it will." Paige added. "But either way, you'll be okay."

"What if I'm not?" Kurt asked, sighing. "What if he doesn't take me back? What if he was my 'one' and I ruined it?"

"Blaine's a good person. He's just heartbroken." Taylor reassured him. "Maybe you should try to visit him? Maybe if he _sees_ you, you all can talk… Maybe not make up, but just… get your feelings out there and find a nice starting point?"

"Because that worked well for me." Paige scoffed.

"Yes well Blaine's probably a bit more reasonable than I am." Taylor shrugged. "Plus, it eventually worked, didn't it?"

"She has a point." Paige said.

"You should go see him!" Taylor clapped her hands together. "Come on. I'll be heartbroken if he's not at Thanksgiving. He always sneaks me food early because Annie actually lets him steal more than one little piece. I feel like he's the male version of myself."

"No, dear. He's a lot cuter than you." Paige teased.

"Oh, come on. Andy likes him so much because he reminds him of _me_." Taylor argued. "He told me so. Kurt, you have to fix this. Thanksgiving depends on it."

Kurt's frown grew.

"She's _kidding_!" Paige wrapped her arms around him and patted his head. "Sweetie, she's teasing."

"I know. It's just that I don't want to have Thanksgiving without him. Or Christmas or even Fourth of July." Kurt sighed. "Only I don't know how to fix what I did or how we would even _work_ if we got back together. I ruined it. But even if we got back together, what would make me magically be able to handle not living with him?"

"I don't think you need to be thinking about getting back together." Paige said gently. "I think you have a long way to go before that happens. You _both_ handled things the wrong way. You bought need to accept your part in the break up, you need to talk about your feelings, build a friendship, and start from the beginning. You can't just go back from what you did. As much as you might _want_ to, you can't… I know. It sucks."

"How am I supposed to even get him to talk to me?"

"Well you can do one of two things. Let him decide to come to you and wait or take it into your own hands and keep trying until he finally talks back." Paige sighed. "You may get a few apples thrown in your face."

Taylor looked up at the ceiling, whistling, when Kurt looked over at her.

"Or, even worse, a hot fudge sundae." Paige scowled.

"You threw apples and sundaes at her?" Kurt gaped.

"There is nothing worse than a woman scorned." Taylor said. "But to be safe, don't corner Blaine in a grocery store or an ice cream parlor."

Kurt groaned. "Do you think I should go and talk to him?"

"That's your decision, Kurtsie." Paige said.

"But Paige and I wouldn't have gotten back together if she hadn't borderline stalked me." Taylor shrugged one shoulder. "And you'd make an adorable stalker."

Kurt forced a smile. "At least a fashionable one."

"It might take time… but if you think he's the one, take that time. Time apart from your relationship is pretty nonnegotiable with the circumstances… but you can work on that until you talk to each other and work on rekindling the friendship." Paige said.

"So you think I should try to talk to him?" Kurt asked for clarification.

"I think that I can't tell you what to do, sweetie. But if you want to talk to him, then try to make it happen. All you can do is try." Paige kissed the top of his head and then added, "Just… make sure there is nothing edible or drinkable around."

"However," Taylor cleared her throat. "You know Blaine. And only you can judge when it's too soon. If he's unreceptive, back off. Forcing the situation will only make it worse which means it'll be longer before you two can talk it out."

"How am I supposed to know when it's too soon?"

"When he throws groceries at you." Taylor snorted, ducking when Paige went to jokingly smack her upside the back of her head.

"If it looks like you being there is hurting more than annoying, you should probably abort mission." Paige said, pulling Kurt's attention back to her.

"But don't leave angry. Don't turn it into a fight." Taylor added. "No matter how mad he is or what mean things he says, you have to be impossibly sweet."

Paige arched her eyebrow.

"Because it drives them _crazy_." Taylor said. "Ugh. When we were fighting like that it was _great_ when she'd argue back. But when she didn't, that's what made me think, 'Oh maybe she's not as much of a heartless bitch' as I thought she was."

"Taylor!" Paige exclaimed.

"Oh, you know I wasn't really _feeling_ that way." Taylor rolled her eyes. "Point is, once he starts second guessing what a horrible person you are, he'll probably either want to fuck you—which will either end in a relationship again or never seeing each other _or_ it will make him want to just 'clear the air' which is basically a really long way of getting back together. Don't listen to her, okay? She had one girlfriend before me and they were like 14 or 15."

"Oh and you had so many girlfriends before we met a few years later? Sweetheart, no." Paige shook her head. "You just can't stand that for once, it's me that Kurt can relate to because I'm the one that did the big fuck up. Sorry, sweetie. You may be part of the Hummel family now but the ability to fuck stuff up—that's genetics."

Kurt stared at them.

"But the great thing is, Hummels are great at fixing their fuck ups." Paige said. "So, Kurt, you will be fine. You're just going to have to learn _patience_. If it's worth it to you, and it's meant to be, you'll get back together. If not, at least you will know in your heart that you really _tried_ to make it work."

"And then what?" Kurt asked, looking between them.

"You find someone else and have a chance to start fresh." Paige frowned.

"Or you join a cult and start worshiping cats. There are great websites I can give you to—."

"Taylor, shut up." Paige rolled her eyes. "Kurt, I am so sorry I brought her into your life."

"Do they have cults that worship dogs?" Kurt asked.

"I will find some especially for you." Taylor hugged him tightly and ruffled his hair. "Because you're my favoritest nephew ever."

"I'm your only nephew." Kurt pointed out.

"The odds were ever in your favor." Taylor said dramatically.

"She's been rereading the Hunger Games again." Paige sighed, shaking her head. "She keeps dramatically explaining how she's leaving me for a three way relationship with Katniss and Peeta. It was funny the first few times but the more she says it, the more I'm convinced she believes it."

Kurt laughed loudly, feeling himself beginning to cheer up.

Maybe they were both right. It was worth it to at least try to fix what he and Blaine had—even if it meant building back up from the beginning. He wanted to. He wasn't sure if he was _ready_ quite yet but really, when was he going to be ready for something like that?

It probably wouldn't be a blissful experience, sure. But if it were a step in the right direction… it would be worth it.

Kurt knew they weren't ready to date at the moment. There were too many discrepancies over why they'd broke up, they had communication issues, and Blaine had his trust issues. There were countless things that needed to be worked on _before_ getting back into a relationship. And his aunts were right. It would probably take a lot of _time_.

But all Kurt had was time and if he and Blaine made it work… it was worth all the time in the world.

…

"Uhm…. Blaine?"

Blaine, who had been running with Adrian but was now walking with him the second day back from his Canada trip, looked confused.

Adrian nodded towards Blaine's small house. Kurt was there.

_Kurt was there._

Blaine blinked, looking again. Yes. Kurt was still there.

"Do you… want me to stay?" Adrian asked, looking like he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do. "Or… get rid of him? Or something?"

"It's fine." Blaine said, feeling his stomach knot up with nerves. Feeling blood start to rush through his veins as he became _angry_. Feeling his heart falling to his stomach because Kurt was still so beautiful, damnit, and it wasn't fair because Blaine had been doing so _well._ He had been doing so well and now here Kurt was and Blaine just knew… just knew he was going to be back at square one.

This is why he'd been ignoring Kurt's calls, messages, and emails since _April_. And now, all these weeks later, and Kurt was _forcing_ him into contact. It wasn't right. It wasn't _fair_. He'd thought offhandedly what he would do if he ever ran into Kurt like this. It hadn't prepared him for it, though. Any words he thought would be good left his mind completely.

Instead, he just stood at the end of the driveway, staring at Kurt as Adrian left.

"Blaine…" Kurt approached him, looking as anxious as Blaine felt.

"No." Blaine shook his head. "Don't."

"I came to—."

"I don't care why you're here." Blaine was surprised by how soft his voice was. "Just _don't._ Go."

"I'm not leaving until I say what I need to say."

"Then say it to the front door." Blaine moved past him.

"Can I please come inside? We should talk, Blaine. _I_ need to talk to you." Kurt pleaded.

"You just talked. And now I'm going inside. Bye."

"Blaine, please!" Kurt was surprised at how desperate he sounded.

Blaine halted.

"I made a mistake. I… I made a huge mistake."

Blaine turned slowly to look at Kurt, not speaking. He wasn't feeling _bad_ for Kurt. He was pissed at him. Pissed at him for just showing up, making Blaine see him, making Blaine think about the break up.

"I ran out after you left that day, Blaine, but you were gone. And I tried to call you but you didn't answer. You didn't answer my texts or emails so I backed off because I thought it was what you wanted but I can't do that anymore. I'm sorry I had to come this way but I don't know how else to _talk_ to you. I just want to _talk_!" Kurt sounded like he was about to cry.

"I didn't want to talk so you decided to come up here and force me to?"

"That isn't fair, Blaine." Kurt stepped onto the porch across from Blaine. "Can't we work on—."

"You ruined anything there was to _work on_. I was ready to work on it and you—you—." Blaine took a deep breath, his fist balling at his side.

" _Please_ just let me talk."

"No! You don't get to come here and do this to me! You don't get to play the victim, act like you want to work on things when you never gave _me_ that option!"

"You never _talked_ to me!"

"You want to talk, Kurt?" Blaine asked, stepping closer. "I'll talk. You think you can waltz in here and talk me into taking you back because you _made a mistake_. It doesn't work that way because you _gave up on us, Kurt_! You s-said you were going to spend the rest of your _life_ with me and then you—you fucking told me that we—that we were over! No! You can't come back in here and say you want me back! I couldn't eat! I couldn't sleep! I had to force myself up every day for three weeks to go to school! You aren't doing this to me again, Kurt. I think you need to leave!"

"I drove all the way here. I'm not leaving until we talk!"

"Fine. Let's talk about this. I dropped out of college to take care of you! I sat _by your bedside_ before they fixed your lung. I watched your chest for two hours before you went back to surgery just to make sure you took one more breath. I was the last one to leave before the surgery, the first one to your bed after! And for that whole night I watched your chest too—just in case! Do you think I slept any for like four days? Because you're _wrong_ if you do. I fed you, I dressed you, I carried you, I made sure your took all of medicine, I sat up every night after your coughing fits in case you needed me. I gave up my apartment, my family, my _life_. Everything I knew without _one_ hesitation, Kurt. To be by your side so I could take care of your _sorry_ ass. I drove hours to UK from Cincinnati for classes and work to be with you. I worked my ass off, Kurt, to get caught up _praying_ —just praying that I'd get into any law school. I dealt with your melt downs over your design classes. I dealt with your sarcasm, your immaturity, your constant obliviousness to anything around you. You treated me like shit, Kurt! You never appreciated me! I was _there_! You never appreciated me, you never thanked me, you never saw past anything that didn't directly concern _you_!"

"I did so thank you! I did apologize! I did appreciate you!" Kurt whimpered, feeling worse with each word. "I hate how this always gets brought up!"

"Well this is me telling you how I _feel_. That's what you wanted, right?" Blaine asked. "I feel like you act like a selfish little boy because you never think of anyone but yourself."

"Then why did you leave UK?"

"Because before your attack you were _different!_ Because I loved you and you asked me to stay! Because I would have done anything for you!" Blaine felt angry tears springing in his eyes. "I would have given up my life for you, Kurt. If I had been in that alley when those men attacked you, I'd _gladly_ have taken every punch! If I could have been there when Karofsky was bullying you, I would have taken every slam into the locker—every name—even that awful kiss. _In a heartbeat_. If someone walked up right now with a gun, I would throw your ass to the ground and take a bullet for you. I would have given everything for you..." As he spoke, his words went from screams to barely audible whispers. "And you wouldn't have cared. You probably wouldn't even notice."

"Don't be ridiculous. Maybe it was really rough after my attack but before you left it was good, Blaine. I was going through a hard time and— Please. I love you. Come here. Please." Kurt whimpered, reaching out and touching Blaine's hand.

Blaine yanked his hand back roughly, stepping back. "Don't touch me!"

"Please…. _I'm sorry_. I w-want it, Blaine. I-I'd give up anything too. I want t-to hold your hand. I want to t-touch your hair and h-hug you and k-kiss you. I want y-you. I want you back, Blaine. P-please. You're all I want. You're everything to me."

"I'm nothing to you! Not if you could throw me away like that. Right now you just feel _bad_. And you _should_. You should feel bad because I didn't just lose you. I lost a _family_. Your family took me in as their own and I felt like I _belonged_. And then you just rip away the most important person in my life—you—and the only family I felt like I belonged in." Blaine spat. "Did you ever stop to think about why I'm here Kurt? Because Harvard Law is down there! See that white rooftop? That's my classroom building, Kurt! That is the school that I worked my ass off to get into! That is one of the most prestigious schools in the whole _goddamn world._ But what do you see?"

Kurt looked away, unable to see the hurt in Blaine's hazel eyes.

"You see something in the way of your happiness. You saw Harvard as competition. Something to pull me away from you, something keeping you from more Blaine time. I did my time when you were eighteen and half alive, Kurt. I put my whole life on hold for you when you were in the hospital, half alive and barely breathing. In bed at home, unable to move more than a few inches at a time. That is when I put in my time! You already decided you were going to Parsons and you just wanted me to wait around, or transfer to a school in New York, or maybe you didn't even factor _me_ in at all."

"I told you to go where you wanted!"

"What, as long as it was on your approved list? What did you _want_?" Blaine exclaimed, angrily wiping his eyes. "I chose the school I wanted!"

"The way you—"

"This was your time to step up!" Blaine interrupted. "I've wanted to be a lawyer since I was six. I never stood in the way of CCAD, I told you that you _couldn't_ go to any other grad school than Parsons. Would I have rather have you right by my side? Uh, yeah. But I wanted you to be happy, okay? I wanted you happy and healthy and I know that Parsons will make you happy! But you—you couldn't handle the distance. The one time I could have used support, you were too worried about your feelings! You have your dad, Carole, Finn, your grandparents, your aunts, Alec, Rachel, Mercedes… I have David and Wes. That's who I have. David and Wes. You've got all of these people but I had three… and now I don't even have you."

Kurt didn't speak, looking at Blaine with teary eyes.

"The important thing here is that I tried to go after my dream and you tell me you _can't take it_ anymore. It's _too hard_. It's too hard to let me do something that makes me happy. You didn't care that I took seven classes for three semesters to get caught up after dropping out to take care of _you_ so I could get into a good law school. I got into Harvard and I loved it but you think the distance is too hard to deal with because you wanted to _see_ me more, _be_ with me more. Phone conversations _aren't enough._ Why can't I be happy? Why can't you take my feelings into consideration for once?"

"You're trying to turn it into me being the bad guy! You're not taking my feelings into consideration either! And you weren't when you went away the way you did!" Kurt began to cry. "It was both of our faults! I may have ended it but there was a _reason_. We weren't communicating about _anything_ , Blaine. I was sick of crying over you, over what we've become since you left! I am very proud of you for making it! I want you to be happy! But how could we be happy with our relationship the way it was?"

"You're defending yourself. Why are you here?" Blaine exclaimed.

"I want to work on things. I want to see you. I miss you, Blaine. I wish you'd give us another chance… I love you."

Blaine gave a sarcastic smile. "Well I wish I had never taken time off of school to stay with you. You should have fucking gone to New York for your undergrad degree because clearly I can't make you happy. Maybe if you had left in the first place, we wouldn't be going through this and I wouldn't have to feel like I'm _dying_!"

"Please stop saying things you don't mean! You don't mean that!" Kurt cried.

"Kurt, you should leave because if you don't I'm going to say something that I 100% mean."

"Just say it and maybe we can get everything out there and we can work on—."

Blaine wiped his eyes. "You promised me time and time again that you'd never leave me and I _trusted_ you. I thought there were three people I would always have—you, David, and Wes. But you _lied_ , Kurt. What you did hurt more than what my parents did because at least I always knew it was coming from them. But you… I had no idea it was even coming. I'm so _stupid_ that I wanted to even work it out with you… Now I just I wish I had never met you."

Kurt's heart stopped. It really did.

"I think you should go. I can't, Kurt. I can't." Blaine whispered, looking down at his shoes.

Kurt stepped up, pressing a kiss to Blaine's cheek. He then leaned in, whispering in his ear. "I am so sorry that you feel that way. I'll give you time but I'm not backing down."

Blaine pulled back and choked out, "Go."

Kurt walked back to the driveway and turned his eyes on Blaine.

"Just _go_." Blaine said, trying his hardest to sound composed when Kurt could literally _see_ Blaine's world crumbling around him… again. " _Please."_

"I'm sorry." Kurt whispered before going to his car.

Blaine turned, slamming the door shut and sliding down it. He put his hand over his mouth, letting out several loud sobs that shook his entire body.

"Blaine? Blaine, what's wrong?"

Blaine, who had expected the house to be empty, looked up as AJ dropped down by him. All he could do was shake his head as he sobbed.

"Did someone die? Are you hurt?" AJ asked. "Who was that shouting?"

Blaine didn't speak.

"Calm down. Calm down, it's okay." She said, patting his head hesitantly. They didn't know each other very well yet, but she wanted to comfort him _somehow_.

He stood, stumbling towards his room.

AJ bit her lip and picked Blaine's iPhone off of the end table where he had put it before going on his run with Adrian. She then flipped through his contacts, pushing Wes' name.

"It's… not Blaine. It's AJ… If you're not waiting for a class, I think you need to come home." AJ said. "It's Blaine."

***LTC***

"I can't believe you went to see him." Alec said two days later, setting boxes down in his bedroom. He and Eric were on their last day moving into their new house just outside of New York City. Well, really, Eric was on their last day moving because Alec stopped Kurt every time he got a chance to talk—and every time he got a chance meant every time Eric was busy getting more boxes off of the truck or out of Alec's car.

"Where do you want this one?" Kurt asked as Eric walked in with a bigger one.

"There is fine." Alec waited until Eric had left before whispering, "So what happened _exactly_?"

"Alec! Just because I'm older and have bigger muscles doesn't mean I have to do it all!" Eric poked his head back in. "The Kurt and Blaine drama will still be there when the last load is _in the house."_

"Yes, father." Alec gave a sweet smile, making no move towards the door once Eric went out.

"I already told you." Kurt sighed, leaving to get another box. "I didn't really leave anything out."

"I just feel _bad_ for both of you. And when in the hell did you decide you wanted him back? I'm your friend. You're supposed to tell me these things."

"Everyone keeps telling me to leave him alone and give him time, but I want to make it _right_." Kurt said. "I didn't tell you because you've already told me to not go see him."

"Well now that you did it anyway, I want to know what happened." Alec said. "Was there any moment where he looked like he wanted to get back together?"

"No. He went back and forth between pissed and hurt. When I left, I felt like the biggest asshole in the whole world. But… some of the things he said… I kind of don't think it'll ever…. I don't know if we'll ever be able to forget this and move on." Kurt frowned.

"You know he didn't mean those things he said." Alec said gently. "Especially about your…"

"Attack. It's okay. I told you, you can talk about it." Kurt grabbed a box that Eric handed him.

"Can you talk about it in fifteen minutes?" Eric huffed.

"God, go take a break. I'll finish." Alec snapped.

"Fine. It'll make up for the fifty you've taken over the last three days while I've worked." Eric snapped right back.

"Love you." Alec called as he hopped off of the U-Haul he was unpacking.

"Love you." Eric muttered.

Kurt looked down when Alec bumped Eric's shoulder but still caught the beginning of Eric's smile. How come his and Blaine's tiffs never ended with smiles and nudges?

_Because you and Blaine don't snap at each other until you both explode._

"Sorry. He's stressing out." Alec apologized. "He's not been sleeping well. It's going to take him a while to get used to the noise."

"You don't have to keep apologizing." Kurt said ad then gave a teasing smile. "Plus, it's you he's getting short with. He even bought me an extra cookie at lunch."

Alec rolled his eyes. "He likes you…. Probably more than me today."

Kurt laughed a bit.

"But anyway. Back to Blaine."

Kurt resisted the urge to sigh. He'd been thinking about the big altercation with Blaine since it happened, but thinking about it was different than talking about it. Talking about it was exhausting.

"But, really… You want to get back with him?" Alec asked.

"I love him. I never stopped loving him." Kurt put down the boxes he had grabbed out of Alec's car and sat on the ground. "I've never wanted to be without him. I just hate… how it is." He paused and then corrected himself. "How it was, I guess."

"Alright." Alec sat down next to him. "But you broke up for a reason. What makes you think now all of a sudden you can just… start again and be okay? And don't say you'll be closer. You both are going to be too busy to travel."

Kurt frowned. He hadn't even thought it through completely himself. He didn't know how anything would ever work but that didn't mean he didn't want to try to take steps to… to what exactly? Be Blaine's friend? Get back together with him?

He just missed _Blaine_.

Honestly, it would have meant the world to him to just have a civil five sentence conversation with him. Because now their whole situation felt hopeless.

Kurt hadn't only given up his boyfriend. He'd also given up his best friend. Realistically, Rachel and Mercedes were his friends but they hadn't been _close_ close in four years. Alec and he were very good friends. In fact, if you didn't count Blaine, Alec was probably Kurt's best friend.

Blaine, however, had been his best friend. They did everything together, laughed together, cried together, had fun, were sad, everything.

He couldn't even count the times he wanted to tell Blaine how he felt about something break up related, to get advice from his best friend, only to remember he no longer _had_ one.

"I'm not trying to upset you… I'm just trying to get into your head and see your reasoning behind the whole thing." Alec watched Kurt.

"I don't know if there is any reasoning… I love him but I don't think it would work if we got back together. I just… right now, I can't stand how we ended. I never should have done it that way. There were things I should have done first, things I should have said ages ago when it was such a problem. Before it got this bad." Kurt sighed. "I feel really bad about how things turned out… but Blaine is at fault too. It's not just me. He _has_ to know it. He shut me out for more than that big fight. He wasn't telling me what was going on with his life. I get being busy but _we_ still should have been a priority. I feel like everyone thinks I'm the bad guy because I'm the one who broke it off but nobody understands what I'm feeling or what I went through. I was really… sad. I'm still really sad. I miss him and I wish things could be back to normal between us, like before he left for Harvard. And I wish that I had been able to handle it better. I really do. But I couldn't."

"The sucky thing is that…" Alec trailed off. "Never mind."

"No. What?" Kurt asked. "It's okay."

"I…. I think you two are too afraid to talk about what you really want because you don't want to upset each other, but it ends up getting way out of hand." Alec tried to explain. "And I think if that weren't the case… that you two would probably be together today."

"I can see how you'd think that."

"I also think its bullshit he was going to propose." Alec admitted.

Kurt's head shot up. What did that have to do with _anything?_

"He wasn't ready. Just because you want to get engaged doesn't mean he should run out and buy a ring. If he had proposed, you would have been stupid to accept it." Alec shrugged. "Sorry, that's how I feel. If he wants to pull the ring card, that's bullshit. He either would have proposed too soon and hated you for it in the end _or_ he would have just had the damn box for ages."

Kurt frowned. "He didn't mention the ring when I visited."

"If he had his heart in proposing, that would have been the focus. Not taking care of you back then. It's kind of dumb to bring back a bunch of stuff from years ago when he could have brought up how you didn't talk about your true feelings about him leaving."

"It's not him leaving. It's how he left. Without any regard to how I would feel." Kurt protested. "If he had been up front I could have been ready for it. But he was just _mean_ doing it that way. And his friends knew. His friends knew but not _me?_ It's not like they came first but it was like he… trusted them and not me. That kills me. Maybe I shouldn't have been jealous but… who wouldn't be? _"_

"This is the kind of stuff you two should be arguing about. Not stuff from high school." Alec frowned. "Sorry, Kurt. Maybe it's not my place to say this stuff."

"I asked. Don't apologize."

"The point is that you're right. You're both at fault in your own ways. If you two are ever going to get together, you've got serious shit to work through."

Kurt sighed. "I know … and I know it's unrealistic that we get back together… at least now. But I do truly feel like he's the love of my life. I truly did want to marry him and have kids with him."

"But he didn't want it yet." Alec pointed out. "Which is something else to think about when you tell yourself you want to be in a relationship again."

"My aunts were talking about how we wouldn't just… get back together. It's going to have to be gradual." Kurt explained. "And that is great but at this point, I don't even see how _that_ can happen. It's so frustrating."

"He'll come around enough to talk it through." Alec sighed. "I don't know how long it will take, but he'll eventually want to talk about the break up. You two were together too long to just… break up the way you did. You're both hurting and you both need to hear each other's thoughts… And I'm sure when _that_ happens, you'll have more of an idea how to go about things… you may even decide it's not repairable."

Kurt scowled. "It _has_ to be."

"Good attitude." Alec stood and picked up the box he'd been holding. "It'll be alright, Kurt. Don't dwell on that visit… Hopefully by the time you see him at that charity thing, it'll have blown over a little bit."

"Oh my God. I'll have to see him next month for that." Kurt groaned. "I should have thought of that before I went to see him, shouldn't I?"

"Nah." Alec whispered tiptoed into the bedroom so they could sit their boxes down. "Look at that goober sleep."

Kurt snorted.

Alec smiled a bit and left the room with Kurt, closing the door. "We'll sit the other boxes in the hallway for now. If we wake him up, he may kill us. I'm too cute to die."

Kurt forced a smile. "Was that the last of the boxes?"

"Yeah." Alec nodded. "Thanks again. We both really appreciate your help, Kurt."

Kurt's smile grew. "You don't have to thank me. I'm just glad you're here. Rachel's already getting on my nerves with all of the wedding planning and her auditions coming up and blah blah blah."

Alec grinned. "Well I promise to not talk about wedding planning because Eric and I are lazy and I suck at acting so no worries there."

Kurt laughed. "Thank God. Maybe that's why I like you so much."

"Are you okay?" Alec tilted his head, watching Kurt.

"I feel better than I did in some ways and worse in others… but I'm glad I went to see him regardless. I just…" Kurt trailed off momentarily. "I don't know how to explain it."

"Do you want to try?" Alec asked.

"I didn't know how I would feel going to see him. Ever since graduation I knew that I wanted him to be at all of these big moments. He wasn't _there_ and I think it really hit me that he wasn't just back in Boston at school. That we're _over_ and he won't be there when I start Parsons or get my first real job… I don't want him to miss my things and I don't want to miss his." Kurt looked down. "It sounds silly but the thought of him not around for big things or holidays or even small things… I just… I don't want to be without him. I don't want to have to miss him. I want him to be with me always."

"That doesn't sound silly, Kurt." Alec said gently. "That doesn't sound silly at all."

"Yeah?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah." Alec nodded. "That's how you're supposed to feel about the love of your life."

And the love of his life is exactly what Blaine was.


	15. Chapter 15

Three weeks had passed since Kurt and Blaine's, as Wes called it, "fight of epic proportions."

Blaine was handling it very well, too. After all, he'd mastered Angry Birds on his iPhone. He had managed to watch three entire television series on Netflix with Adrian around the many hours spent on their shared internship. In fact, he was handling it _so_ well that he'd even found a date to the Charity Ball.

Not Adrian.

That would have been way too awkward.

Instead, he'd invited Ashleigh. Was it the smartest thing to invite a girl that clearly liked him? Maybe not but at least she knew he was gay. It wasn't like he was leading her on. And this way, he didn't have to find a guy to take who he _would_ have lead on seeing as Blaine was the most oblivious person in the United States.

"Wait." Wes, who had just found out who would be accompanying Blaine to the ball, dropped the beanie bag he was throwing at their front door and blinked at Blaine. "You're bringing… a _girl_?"

Blaine looked up from his phone briefly, eyebrow arching.

"I mean… Can you just… repeat that?" Wes asked.

"Why not? She was heading to Ohio anyway because her family is in Northern Ohio. This way she catches a ride with us, I don't look like a complete dufus without a plus one." Blaine said. "If you'll excuse me, I'm about to beat my high score on—DAMNIT!"

"I'm sorry for what I'm about to do." Wes said before leaning over the back of the couch and snatching Blaine's iPhone out of his hand.

"Wesley!" Blaine dramatically whined.

"Get a hobby."

"Bejeweled is my hobby, okay? And look. Gary and I are in an awesome Draw Something duel."

"Isn't that Adrian's roommate?"

"And my _classmate_. I don't know why everyone is so concerned with Adrian. When I ask him to dances, then you worry." Blaine rolled his eyes. "Let me have the phone back. He only has fifteen more minutes before his lunch is over."

" _Blaine_ , listen to me. Summer is going to your head."

"I get my daily exercise, _mother_. Besides, when I was 13 I missed the gaming thing. I was too busy reading Harry Potter fanfiction."

"You were… what?"

"Don't judge me, you manslut."

" _You're_ cramping my style." Wes accused. "The last girl I had in my room left because you were listening to what she called 'broken hearted songs.'"

"If I have a problem with being broken-hearted, you have a problem with having sex with girls." Blaine said. "It's called a fear of commitment."

"You were with Kurt for, what, five years and didn't propose!" Wes exclaimed.

"Your longest relationship has been three days." Blaine's brow furrowed. "And don't bring Kurt into this."

"Fine. If you listen to your depressing songs on your iPhone—with the headphones in." Wes pointed at him. " _Please_."

"Fine. I'll only listen to the Spice Girls from now on."

"You _heard_?" Wes gasped.

"I'm pretty sure you could hear it from any room in the house." AJ said walking through.

Wes sneered. "Nobody asked you."

"Heads up, that girl you're planning on seeing tonight? She has Herpes." AJ added.

"How do you know that?" Wes asked hesitantly.

"I overheard a phone conversation with her ex-boyfriend."

"Is this the one you've given rides to?" Blaine asked, head tilting.

"I need to go clean my car seats." Wes said, heading for the door.

"Does she really have it?" Blaine asked AJ once the door closed.

"I wouldn't _lie_ about that." AJ said. "They didn't do the deed yet, did they?"

Blaine shrugged, nose scrunched up.

AJ plopped on the couch by him, glancing at his phone. "New high score?"

"Oh yeah! I've beat last night's twice now." Blaine explained.

"Are you… switching between two games?" She asked.

"Mhm. Three, actually." Blaine nodded and then exclaimed, "WOO! Take that, green diamonds of doom!"

"So what kind of dance are you and Wes going to?" AJ asked curiously.

"A charity one to raise money for Alzheimer's." Blaine didn't glance up.

"Are you two going together?"

"He's going stag but I'm taking this girl Ashleigh." Blaine said, still not even glancing at her. "She's in a lot of my classes and was heading to Ohio anyway, so we're taking her in our car and she's going to go with me to the dance."

"Oh."

"Maybe you can go with Wes." Blaine teased, glancing up.

"No thank you." AJ forced a laugh.

"Blainers, dude, I need you!" Wes called from the kitchen.

"I'm not helping you clean your car seats! Yeah right!" Blaine called.

"Just get in here!" Wes snapped.

"Be back later." Blaine sighed and put his phone down, heading out of the room.

"Could you be any more oblivious?" Wes asked in a hushed whisper once Blaine made it into the kitchen.

"What?"

"She was clearly trying to get you to invite _her_ as your _date_." Wes informed him. "It was classic. Did you hear the instant change in her tone as you crushed her dreams?"

"Uh… there wasn't a tone change. And I didn't crush her dreams."

"Blaine, I'll say this as bluntly as I can. She still thinks you are straight. She likes you. She wants the D."

"The— _oh_. No she doesn't. I mean, she thinks I'm attractive but she doesn't _like_ me." Blaine said.

"This is Thad all over. Why does she want to sit and talk to you about what games you're playing _on your phone?"_ Wes said, dragging Blaine outside and to his car. "Tell her you're gay."

"She has to have figured it out on her own."

"No. She hasn't." Wes said. "You tell her or get Adrian to casually mention it to her. It's going to get worse."

Blaine laughed. "I'm not telling her I'm gay."

"You don't know girls, Blaine. Trust me. Wasn't she even hanging out in your room last night?"

"I was organizing my books and we'd been talking about music before, so…" Blaine shook his head. "No. You're trying to get in my head."

"No, Blaine. I'm trying to help you out here before you have this hot girl thinking you're straight and falling in love with you. Then you'll feel bad." Wes said. "So put an end to it _now_."

"It was only a conversation!"

"But you made it worse saying the girl we're taking is just a classmate heading there anyway. That was almost as if saying, 'Hey, I would have invited you because you're hot _but_ I asked her first. Sorry.'" Wes said.

"Hot? Since when do you think she's hot? You said she was a plain Jane." Blaine scoffed.

"Fine. Don't listen. Go back into Oblivious Blaine Land." Wes said, completely ignoring the plain Jane comment.

"I don't understand why you and David think everyone likes me. Thad loooooved me, Kurt looooved me, and now AJ? We've only known each other a month. We're getting to know each other. She's _nice_."

Wes banged his head on his car window. "Fine. You're the girl expert, clearly."

"Well clearly I can't have girl friends or boy friends because I send the wrong messages, so I'm gonna go become a pineapple or something." Blaine headed into the house, pretty sure Wes called him Spongebob as he walked away.

***LTC***

"I have a problem."

"What's that?" Kurt asked as soon as he reached Alec, who was sitting on a bench outside of Parsons and waiting for him. They had been to the campus many times together over the last few weeks because it was half way between their houses and, besides, they _liked_ it on campus. Spending time there would help with their adjustment in the fall.

"First of all, Eric's mother keeps calling me and asking me to take their last name. Which I cannot pronounce let alone spell." Alec said. "Second of all, the Sims."

"The Sims?" Kurt asked. "As in… the game?"

"Yes, as in the game. Eric created a new family and not only is addicted but he made him and me. We've got all these pets and one of our children is a clown and the other one looks like a murderer and to make matters worse, he _drowned me_ and now I'm a Zombie." Alec sat next to him.

Kurt threw his head back, laughing.

"It's not funny! I feel like I have to watch myself around him and running water!" Alec exclaimed. "And to make it worse, we had a baby but Sims CPS took it away."

Kurt bent, laughing into his knees.

"This is him inadvertently telling me he doesn't want kids."

"I don't think you should want kids with him." Kurt gasped.

"His mom is on about that too! Like I can raise a kid! I'm 21!" Alec groaned. "She keeps calling Eric but asking to talk to me and goes on and on about the wedding and last names and kids and moving home. Sorry but _no_."

"Just elope and get it over with… and make him take your last name."

"He's going to have to because I'm not having a last name I can't say."

"Are you exaggerating?"

"No. His dad is Greek, so it's really long and doesn't sound like its spelled." Alex explained. "And we talked about eloping next year. Cheaper but more drama. I think both of our parents would murder us."

"That's too funny." Kurt laughed.

"You're in a good mood."

"I had breakfast with Rachel and Mercedes before I came. It was fun. I got caught up on all the drama… which there is apparently a lot of but 'none that tops you and Blaine breaking up.'" Kurt quoted, "Which is sad considering that happened in April and it's the beginning of July."

"You know girls. They love their gay boys." Alec laughed.

"It kind of stinks because I won't be thinking about it and then they'll bring it up." Kurt admitted. "I'm trying to give Blaine time and not think about it until we're to a point where we can talk about it. There's nothing I can do now, you know? It just makes me sad to think about it all the time."

"So you're not thinking about it at all? This time last week you were beating yourself up."

"I'm fine during the day when I'm busy. At night, not so much." Kurt bit his lip.

"But better is good." Alec smiled. He looked behind them, at Parsons. "It's kind of terrifyingly big."

"CCAD seemed big at first too." Kurt reminded him.

"I guess you're right." Alec said.

"And we found our classes and stuff. There isn't that to stress about."

"It's weird to _be_ here." Alec said. "Honestly, I was afraid the professors at CCAD would tell me that I wasn't cut out for it. And I was one of the top students."

"I had to work hard to keep up with you." Kurt confessed, staring at the building as well.

"God, you hated me." Alec laughed. "I bet you still do. Keep your friends close, enemies closer."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I didn't hate you… Okay, maybe a bit."

"I'm glad we got partnered together." Alec said. "And I'm _really_ glad we'll both be at Parsons together."

"I'm glad too." Kurt smiled.

"So what do I need to wear to this charity Gobbler Ball or whatever?"

"Warbler." Kurt laughed. "And you need to dress nicely. It's a prep school event."

"Ah." Alec nodded once. "I can do that. I'm kind of excited to do something. My life hasn't been too exciting since we got here."

"Why don't you go around?"

"Every time I do, I get lost and Eric has to find me." Alec groaned. "He's saying they need to get a tracking anklet on me in case I lose my phone."

"Eric is funny." Kurt shook his head.

"He tries." Alec rolled his eyes.

"How is living together? _Officially_ , I mean?"

"Apart from the fact that I have suspicions he's going to try to drown me, it's good." Alec said. "We keep bickering over bathroom space."

"Blaine and I had to get separate shelving things because we kept getting angry with each other. We would put _our_ stuff in front every time we—."

"Yeah. Yeah." Alec didn't even let him finish. "Us too. Separate shelving units, huh?"

"It was expensive but it was also worth it. I mean, Blaine's a neat freak and I don't just _throw_ my stuff in there. It has a spot. It's not as organized as he'd like it, so he'd keep trying to—."

"Fix it." Alec finished. "But we don't have that problem in the bathroom. It's the _kitchen_. He puts peanut butter, bread, and cookies in the _fridge_. Who the hell puts that in a fridge?"

"I caught Blaine eating frozen French fries like five times. I don't know what to expect from people when it comes to food anymore." Kurt shrugged.

" _Frozen_?"

"I mean, I hope he let them thaw a bit but I hardly doubt it. His stomach is a black hole." Kurt snorted a bit and then gave a sad smile.

"Eric has completely normal eating habits… sticks to the food guide pyramid to the T almost." Alec said. "I, however, do not."

Kurt laughed. "You don't at _all_."

Alec laughed also and looked around them again. "We're definitely not in Ohio anymore."

"You used to live in LA, though. You'll adjust quicker than me." Kurt pointed out.

"LA is completely different." Alec said. " _Completely_."

"Completely what?"

Alec jumped, turning to see Eric behind the bench they were sitting on.

"Creeper!" Alec said, reaching and punching his arm.

"We were just waiting to see if any drug deals would go down." Kurt informed Eric.

"That sounds exciting but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't happen in front of a campus in broad daylight." Eric pointed out, bending down and loudly kissing the top of Alec's head.

"My hair." Alec grunted.

"He talking about how he's sick of me already?" Eric teased.

"That and how he's afraid you're going to drown him."

"I told you it was an _accident_." Eric looked to Kurt. "I sold the door because I needed money to buy a new coffee maker and—."

"This just makes it sound worse!" Alec said. "Oh my _God_."

"I have needs and coffee is one of the big ones. I'm sorry that some sacrifices had to be made."

"I'M A ZOMBIE!"

Kurt couldn't help but laugh.

"It's a _game_ , Alec." Eric said.

"Yeah well I'm starting to think you might have homicidal tendencies." Alec huffed.

"Wanna come over for dinner tonight, Kurt?" Eric asked, wrapping his arms around Alec.

"I hope that means you're cooking." Alec said, patting Eric's left arm absent-mindedly.

"You ate the microwavable food. I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Eric teased. "What do you say, Kurt?"

" _Please oh please_." Alec begged. "You have to come. You had breakfast with your friends, have dinner with us."

"Okay." Kurt smiled.

"Well come on, youngsters." Eric gently tugged Alec up by the hand. "Let us go eat."

***LTC***

"I am _so_ sorry, Kurt. Eric has been throwing up for seven hours straight. There's no way I can leave with you tonight to go to that thing."

Kurt, who was nearly ready to leave for Ohio several days later, frowned. Honestly, he was mostly frowning because Eric was sick as opposed to it being because Kurt would now have to go to the ball alone.

"He keeps trying to get me to go but I just got him to sleep, his fever is 102.7 and I can't leave him."

"No, no, it's okay. You should be with him." Kurt said, mentally debating not going to the charity ball at all. Then again… his family was already expecting to see him before the ball. He couldn't bail on them because he didn't want to run into Blaine alone.

"I'm so sorry. I really am. I feel _horrible_. Look, you should just stay in New York. Hang out with your brother or something." Alec suggested.

"I'm still going to go. I want to go to Ohio to see family anyway." Kurt responded. "But really, don't worry about it. Are you going to take him to the…"

"Doctor." Alec snorted. "He's on some medicine already but it's not quite kicked in. I think—Babe, did you—I gotta go, Kurt. Sorry! I'll text you later!"

Kurt looked at his phone as Alec abruptly hung up. He then tapped out a text ( _Everything okay?)_ before facing his packed bag.

If he hadn't wanted to go to this ball before, he _really_ didn't now.

***LTC***

A glimpse.

That was all Kurt had seen of Blaine in the hour and a half that he'd been at the Warbler Ball. He had walked across a hall, laughing with Thad and some girl that Kurt assumed was Thad's date. He was pretty sure Blaine hadn't even _seen_ him.

Coming to the ball hadn't been _that_ bad, really. He had been a little worried that everyone would be rude to him or avoid him entirely. Many people, however, had come up to him and had entire conversations.

Still, he wished he were here with Blaine. That people were making comments about how they knew they'd last, not looking shocked when Kurt said they weren't there together. He wished that Blaine would even say hello, look his way, something. He could only figure Blaine was avoiding him because everyone else he'd run into three times.

"It must be hard to be here without Blaine."

Kurt spun around, only to come face to face with… Derek? But… What?

"And he brought a _girl_. She's kind of pretty, I guess, but I always thought he liked dick." Derek shrugged his shoulder. "Anyway, how are you?"

Kurt stared at him, struggling to understand what was happening. Why was Derek in _Westerville?_ At a Dalton Academy charity ball? He knew for a fact that Derek hadn't gone to Dalton, much less been a Warbler.

"You don't look very excited to see me. I'm hurt." Derek said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "What do you say we ditch this joint? I mean how many people have said hello to Blaine versus how many said hello to _you_?"

"All of the Warblers said hello to me actually." Kurt responded coolly. "All of them except—."

"The one with dark hair who keeps glowering at you?" Derek snorted. "Let me guess. He liked Blaine and you got him. I mean, I have to give you credit. Blaine's very attractive."

"Why are you here?" Kurt snapped. "I'm not playing games with you, Derek. Did you follow me here?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Kurt. I was invited here the same as you." Derek smirked.

"Why are you here?" Kurt repeated.

"Shouldn't you be more focused on the fact that I'm the only one who has probably said more than five words to you all night?" Derek's smirk only grew.

"That isn't true." Kurt said irritably.

"Come on. Let's ditch this place. Grab my hand and we'll walk out. Can you imagine what it would do to Blaine?"

Kurt turned, walking away from him. Derek wasn't worth the annoyance he caused. Kurt wanted to leave anyway.

Derek followed him out into the hall. "You can't honestly be pining over him. He's clearly got daddy problems. It'd be too much of an effort to get anything out of the guy. He went states away for school to get away from you. I'm right here."

"You're going to California for your grad degree." Kurt deadpanned.

"I'm not looking for anything long-term. And maybe a few romps in the sheets would—."

"How do you know Blaine?" Kurt demanded.

"Excuse me?"

"I never told you about Blaine's family and you said those things to him. How do you know him? Why are you at this ball? Are you doing this to get at _him_ or _me_?"

"My father is a member of the Dalton Academy committee." Derek responded. "He is _also_ a judge. He works very closely with senator candidate Barbara Anderson. As for why I'm here, well… Mainly to get at him since his dad offered me a bit of a reward for my troubles… But if I get a nice piece of ass like yours out of the whole thing, well… who doesn't like bonuses?"

Kurt clenched his fist.

"When I was on your Facebook and saw this _Blaine_ that you dated looked exactly like a younger version of Barbara's son… well, you don't need a law degree to add two plus two and get four." Derek continued. "So I was visiting my father one day when dear old Blaine's dad was visiting Barbara and we had a chat about his old _ways_ , you know? Funnily enough, as soon as he found out that I wanted you… he got to talking really fast. I probably know a few things about your ex that _you_ don't. All because Blaine's daddy doesn't like him having a boyfriend."

"You are a pitiful excuse for a human being!" Kurt exclaimed, angry tears stinging in his eyes. This was his fault. The irony of Blaine making his Facebook private, yet someone with connections seeing Blaine on _his_?

And his _father_.

Blaine's _father_.

"The funny thing is when Blaine and I were 12, 13, even 14 we sat together at like five galas. Guess he was too depressed to even notice me back then. That or he's too stupid to recognize me no—."

There was a loud smack as Kurt's hand collided with his cheek.

"You little turtle faced _pansy_!" Derek yelled, pushing Kurt against a wall and raising his hand to punch him.

"Get off of him!"

Kurt's eyes widened in shock when Wes pulled Derek off of him.

"Do you have a problem?" Wes demanded, voice angrier than Kurt had ever heard it.

"This isn't your business." Derek spat.

Wes gestured for Kurt to move and then pushed Derek into the wall. "Actually when you have my friend pinned up against a wall, it becomes my business. Don't even get me started on what I just heard you say about Blaine because, _dick_ , you do _not_ want to go there. The last time someone messed with Blaine in front of me, he ended up in the hospital with an arm broken in three pieces."

Kurt got a sliver of personal satisfaction when he saw fear flash through Derek's eyes. He then looked over, seeing Blaine and the girl he was with walk out of the dance hall. Blaine's eyes zoomed in on them and he walked up without a word to the girl.

"What's going on? Why is he here?"

"Tell Blaine you're sorry." Wes said, holding Derek into place.

"Bite me."

"I said _tell him you're sorry_." Wes hissed.

"I'll tell your father you said hello." Derek sneered.

"Are you two here together?" Blaine asked Kurt. "Is that really—Are you and—."

"Blaine, shut up." Wes said, briefly looking at Blaine. He then looked back to Derek. "Scat or I'll make you."

"Getting in your pants isn't worth _this_." Derek sneered in Kurt's direction and stalked out of the hallway.

"What did you say my name for? Apologize for what?" Blaine asked.

"For Christmas break." Wes lied. "Go on."

"Come on." The girl with Blaine said, tugging his arm a bit. "Let's go back and dance."

"Fine." Blaine sent Kurt a look—which was really more confused than anything—and then let his date lead him back into the dance hall, half laughing at something she said.

"You okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Wes asked Kurt, surveying him.

"No, I'm fine." Kurt said, looking back at Wes. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Wes gave Kurt a sad smile. "I've meant to text you actually. To see how you're doing. I've been busy though. We had a roommate move in and then we went to Canada and… How are you?"

"Great." Kurt said before shaking his head. "Not great."

"You didn't come with that asshole did you?" Wes asked.

"No. I came alone… although now I'm wishing I hadn't come at all." Kurt admitted.

Wes gave a forced smile. "He comes back and messes with you again, you come find me and I'll take care of it."

"Thanks, Wes." Kurt said.

"See you around." Wes forced a second smile before heading back into the dance hall

_Stay a few more minutes, wait and see how much money Dalton raised, and then go. If you leave before that, it'll be obvious why you're leaving._

Kurt didn't _want_ to stay, though. He was _pissed_.

Blaine's parents had gotten to Blaine through _him_. This was his fault, all because Derek wanted in Kurt's pants.

Their break up was inevitable. He knew that. However, he also knew that Derek had played a huge role in the catalyst that set it off. Maybe if the Derek thing hadn't happened… Maybe it would have been more bearable. Maybe Kurt wouldn't have gone off the edge. Then again, life couldn't be based off of maybes. It was and it wasn't as simple as that.

He made his way back into the dance hall. At first, he didn't see Blaine, Wes, or David. He saw Thad dancing with some girl although neither of them looked like they wanted to be there. Jeff and Nick were in a corner, making out with hands groping everything that wasn't inappropriate enough to have the police called on them (not that anyone would have, but Kurt had to give them props for holding back). It wasn't until he had sat down with a drink that he saw Blaine. Blaine and his date, the girl.

Because, now that Derek wasn't preoccupying his thoughts, it hit him like a ton of bricks. Blaine had brought a _girl_. Blaine was in the middle of the dance floor, dancing comfortably and happily with a _girl_. A girl with blond hair, blue eyes, a gorgeous purple dress, and _breasts._ Breasts and a _vagina_. She was a _girl_. All pressed up again Blaine _. His_ Blaine.

Was he trying to make Kurt jealous or angry? Was he trying to be straight? Was the girl his date or his _date_? Maybe she was technically Wes' date but… no, Wes was flirting with some girl in a corner.

Blaine had seriously brought a _girl_ as his date. They were talking quietly, swaying—close but not _too_ close, thank God. And then it happened. The girl leaned in, lips parting, and _kissed Blaine_.

Kurt's jaw dropped. He didn't wait for Blaine's reaction. He didn't _want_ to see it.

He stood and ran out of the dance hall. Let people talk. Kurt had to get out of this goddamn place. Why had he come in the first place? The second Alec bailed he should have backed out but _no_. He'd be _fine_. Bull-fucking-shit he'd be fine.

Fine? Going into a place that worshipped Blaine? He was lucky Derek was the only guy who had tried to punch him so far.

"You had to make a scene!"

Kurt spun, seeing Blaine running up behind him.

"You just _had_ to!" Blaine looked furious.

"You brought a girl?" Kurt asked.

"That's what you say? _You brought a girl_?" Blaine laughed. "This is great. Now everyone in there is going to think I did something wrong because you're running out here like you aren't the one who broke up with _me_! This is _great_!"

"Don't play the victim. Haven't you been playing the victim long enough?" Kurt snapped.

If possible, Blaine's face looked more furious than it had seconds before. Kurt was really on a roll.

"I'm playing the victim?" Blaine questioned. "Yet someone kisses me and you flee the room like you were left at the altar! _You left me_!"

"Stop acting like you played no part in this!" Kurt shrieked.

"I can't do this. I can't believe you're seriously acting this way right now." Blaine shook his head.

"You're the one that followed me out here." Kurt lowered his voice as a few Warblers came out of the building. "Can't we just be civil?"

Blaine let out a hollow laugh. "I don't want to be civil with you, Kurt. I don't even want to talk to you."

"Then why did you follow me out here?"

Blaine didn't speak. Honestly, he didn't know what to say. Maybe it was just a gut reaction, running after Kurt to comfort him. Mostly it was a mistake.

"I don't want to be this way forever." Kurt swallowed.

"You're standing in here like you _care_ or something and, frankly, it's insulting."

"I do care!" Kurt's voice rose.

"If you cared, you wouldn't have done this to me!" Blaine narrowed his eyes.

"Would you stop and think of things _you_ did to contribute to this? To the outside world maybe you can pull off this picture perfect version of yourself but, Blaine, I know you better than that!" Kurt exclaimed, trying to keep his voice quiet enough that they couldn't be heard.

"Anything I did is nowhere near as bad as you pulling the plug." Blaine snapped.

"Just think about the things you're saying!" Kurt exclaimed. "There isn't only one victim in this break up, Blaine, and it's time you figured that out so maybe we can move on from this!"

"I don't want to move on from this, Kurt!"

"Why? Why won't you _talk to me_?"

"Why should I _want to_?"

"Because I am trying to show you how _sorry_ I am." Kurt bit his lip. "Blaine, I overreacted. I'm sorry. You know I am. I never intended to break up with you."

"You're lying. That just doesn't slip out!"

"Please, just—just listen to me! Ever since you left for Harvard you haven't been listening! I am tired of trying to be heard!" Kurt exclaimed. "Blaine, I'm so sorry. I … All I want is to fix this and… and I know I can't. I know that I can't flip a switch and we get back together, or even be friends, but—but Blaine, I'm trying! I'm trying to fix this or at least get us in the right direction. I just—I need you to _help_. If we could talk—."

"It hurts too much." Blaine looked away, voice not sounding angry. Instead, he just sounded defeated. "It hurts too much to see you or hear you. Every time I look you in the eyes, my heart breaks all over again."

"I'm so sorry." Kurt's voice cracked.

"I know I had fault in it too, Kurt. I do know that. You keep saying I don't and I _do_ but I—I don't want to think about it. I don't want to talk about it or anything. I want to be happy and being around you breaks my heart. _You're hurting me_."

"What can I do to fix it? What can I say? Are we ever going to be able to get back to how we were?"

"You don't get it! You just don't get it, Kurt!"

"Then explain it to me! For once, explain something to me instead of letting it build up and explode!"

"I shouldn't _have_ to explain to you why I can't talk to you! If you knew me as well as you claim to, you should know!"

"Humor me then."

"I can't talk to you because, until April, I thought you were the love of my life." Blaine snapped. "You have been a huge part of my life since I was seventeen years old, we fought so hard to get to where we were and I didn't want to throw that away! I have—I had four good things in my life, Kurt. Wes, David, Harvard… and _you_."

Kurt stared at him.

"And you ripped one away from me. One of the four things I had. You didn't fucking give me a chance to fix anything! And I had no say in it! Just _gone_!"

Kurt didn't look away, although he wanted to. He could see Blaine's anger escalating quickly.

"I feel so stupid for trusting you. You hurt me worse than my _family_. Because with them, I knew it was coming. But I trusted you, Kurt, and you're gone. You were one of the three people I thought I would always have and you…Not only you… Everyone throws me away like I'm _trash_! I never meant to hurt you by going to Harvard! I just want to feel like I'm worth more than the trash everyone thinks I am."

"Please don't say that." Tears filled Kurt's eyes.

"You're not here anymore. It's like I was waiting for this _person_ to swoop in and make everything okay. To make me feel like I'm not worthless. All of my life I've heard how I should have been aborted, how I'd never be anything, and I am trying so hard to prove my parents—my dad—wrong! Honest to God, Kurt, Harvard had nothing to do with hurting you! It has everything to do with my parents! It has everything to do with the fact that it's one of the few things I have that nobody can take away!"

Kurt didn't speak.

"And I'm the top student in my year." Blaine let out a hollow laugh. "But it's like I can't enjoy it because of you. Constantly hurt, mad, fighting, upset. Then making up and two weeks later we're back to fighting again and half the time. Then in April you basically gave me two options—my school that I love or my love—and then you didn't even make it a choice for me! You chose! I know I don't have much but can't I even make my own goddamn decisions? And can't you at least be supportive? The whole time you were supportive, you really weren't."

"Don't say that!"

"Why not? It's the fucking truth! You'd say these supportive things to me but go and talk to other people about how hard it was on you. You even told _me_ you weren't happy that I left, Kurt. You—Like we talked about last time—you saw it as something I did to you, to us. When it had nothing to do with you. All I wanted was _support_. But instead, you took yourself out of my life. Everyone takes it upon themselves to remove themselves from my life and _I hate you so much_!" Blaine covered his face. "I hate you, I hate you. I really hate you."

"Don't say that, Blaine."

"You said you'd be there forever and you left me. You left me. You made promises and you didn't keep them. I wanted you to be my forever and now we're nothing."

"I thought you were going to propose before law school and instead, you move thirteen hours away. Can you understand why… why I would…" Kurt paused, trying to figure out exactly what he wanted to say. "Blaine, you threw this on me. You know that I want you to be happy."

"Kind of like when you threw the commitment card at me?"

"Don't even. I'm almost twenty-two, Blaine. We got together when I was seventeen." Kurt argued. "Before we talked about houses with red doors, kids, and stuff. Lately I mention anything and suddenly you might want to be married by thirty. What the hell? Then I break up with you and you freaking pull out a Tiffany's ring like you were going to propose?"

Blaine scowled.

"You didn't want to marry me. You wanted to shut me up." Kurt accused. "Right?"

"Wrong." Blaine snapped. "I felt cornered into it. Not that it mattered because you broke up with me anyway."

"I didn't want you to feel cornered. I wanted you to _want_ to propose to me!"

"Did you want an engagement or a marriage?" Blaine questioned.

"Don't even—." Kurt took a step back.

"What would a ring on your finger matter? Either way, we'd still be living apart. We had the option of traveling like we did to UK and CCAD once you moved to New York City, Kurt, and you're the one who went to live with Quinn!"

"You never brought it up!"

"When did I have time to bring it up between your hissy fits about getting married and about cancelled plans?"

Kurt threw his hands into the air, letting out a growl of frustration.

"I have to get back to Ashleigh." Blaine said, scowl not leaving his face.

"Yeah. Don't keep your girlfriend waiting." Kurt scoffed.

"It is none of your business who I bring with me to _anything_ , Kurt."

"Like it wasn't your business if I brought Derek?" Kurt snapped. "And, do you _really_ think I would do something like that? Really?"

"I don't know. You've been full of a lot of surprises lately." Blaine retorted,

"Kind of like you trying to play the straight card?"

"I'm not playing the straight card." Blaine said through gritted teeth.

"You're making out with a girl in front of half the Warblers. What else could that _be_?" Kurt shrieked.

"It's none of your damn business who I kiss, see, date, or even have sex with. So move on with your own life and stay the hell out of mine." Blaine turned, heading back towards Dalton.

"Blaine, don't go! Please!" Kurt called, going after him.

"I am done arguing with you, Kurt." Blaine said, not even glancing at Kurt.

Kurt watched him grip the handle to the door, pulling the door open.

Blaine turned, an unreadable expression on his face. He then walked through the doorway, not looking back. He wasn't sure what he felt—upset, sadness, anger, maybe even relief. It didn't take long to decide, though.

"Anything you'd like me to tell your dad when I talk to him?"

Blaine turned slowly, seeing Derek leaning against the hallway wall. Evidently Wes hadn't run him off as much as they'd _thought_. It had taken everything in him to not seek Derek out and punch him after Wes had revealed the conversation he'd overheard between he and Kurt. Now, after arguing with Kurt, he wasn't sure he had it in him to walk away.

In fact.

Blaine didn't want to walk away.

He'd had enough.

"No." Blaine mustered the most cheerful voice he could, walking over. "I do have something I'd like to tell _you,_ though."

"What's that?" Derek smirked.

Blaine raised his fist, punching Derek straight in the nose. "If you ever mess with Kurt again, I'll ruin you. Don't look at him, don't talk to him, and don't keep playing your little game. Because unlike anyone else who has ever been anywhere near your STD ridden _dick_ , Kurt has morals."

Derek launched forward. "Coming from someone who lost his virginity in a conversion camp and had sex with a preacher's son the next summer?"

"Don't lay your hands on me. It's not the night." Blaine said, voice low.

"You two are fucking _crazy_. You deserve each other!" Derek raised his hand as though he was going to punch Blaine. He blinked a few times, as if debating, before side stepping Blaine and walking away.

Blaine waited until Derek was out of sight before rubbing his hand and whimpering, "Ow. That really hurt."

***LTC***

"How was last night?"

Kurt had avoided coming downstairs the morning after his argument with Blaine for this very reason. He knew the question was coming and he really didn't want to have to answer it. He looked at his father and then grunted a bit.

"That bad, eh?" Burt questioned, looking disappointed.

"The parts that didn't involve Blaine were bearable." Kurt poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at the table, feeling very odd back at home and in the kitchen with his dad. It was almost like he was sixteen or seventeen again, not nearly twenty-one and some semblance of independent.

"Blaine, Blaine, Blaine!" Melody toddled in. "Call Blaine, Kurt! Call Blaine!"

"Blaine's busy at school." Burt said before Kurt could even speak.

"Call Blaine _please_?" Melody questioned, pulling herself onto Kurt's lap with some great skill for a toddler.

"We'll try to call him on Monday." Carole said as she came into the kitchen. She walked to Kurt, ruffling his hair. "Did you have fun last night?"

"The most pleasant part of the evening with smacking someone. Other than that, it was uneventful."

"You smacked him?" Burt stared at Kurt in disbelief.

"Not B-L-A-I-N-E." Kurt said.

"Smacking is not nice." Carole said, voice geared at Melody. "We learned that yesterday, didn't we? Burt, your children are violent."

"Did you two talk at all?"

"Burt…" Carole shook her head. "If Kurt wants to talk about it, he will."

"We talked. It didn't end well." Kurt responded, voice emotionless. "I'm going to leave it be. If he wants to talk to me, he knows how to get in touch."

"Oh, sweetie." Carole frowned as Melody walked out of the kitchen.

"It's okay. The arguing is actually kind of… good. We need to say this stuff. _Maybe_ once everything is said and done, we can work on fixing the relationship… or at least becoming friends… It's the situation we're in now. But I think he still loves me and I know I still love him.

"At least you two are fighting through these things." Carole said.

"There's no way Blaine doesn't still love you." Burt added gruffly. "He was going to propose."

"He wasn't going to propose. And if he was going to, it was only because he felt cornered." Kurt said shortly.

"All I'm saying is, it'll work out. Eventually."

"I'm sorry. I know you had high hopes of us both walking in this morning."

"Yes, well, it was unrealistic." Burt admitted. "I want you happy, kid."

"I'm trying. I'm trying really hard. I've been going back and forth since the breakup, though. Sometimes I'm happy and sometimes I'm sad. I'm starting to feel a little bipolar." Kurt sighed. "I was really upset last night but… I can't keep doing this to myself. It is what it is and it will remain this way until he makes a move to talk to me. I'm not going to try anymore. He can come to me if he wants. And in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy New York and school and the internship once school starts up."

Carole smiled. "I think that's a good attitude to have, hon. I know this break up is hard but you've wanted to go to New York since I've met you."

"He's wanted to go since he was four." Burt pointed at Kurt, a proud grin spreading across his face. "And he made it. My boy made it to New York. I must've done somethin' right with this one."

Kurt smiled a bit.

"Enjoy New York while you can. Enjoy being _young_ while you can. It really does pass by so quickly… and you deserve to enjoy this." Carole continued. "You worked very hard to get to where you are today. Don't let _anything_ ruin it for you."

"I won't." Kurt promised. "If you want to let Melody call him, it's fine. I don't care. I can go in the other room."

"We usually call on Mondays. It's his lightest school day." Carole said. "And we don't call him every week."

"Does she… ask about him a lot?"

"No." Burt shook his head. "She doesn't a whole lot but once she hears his name, she'll want to talk to him."

Kurt nodded. "Do you two… talk to him?"

"He and I talk about twice a week, but sometimes less." Carole said.

"He texts me." Burt confessed. "We don't talk about a whole lot though. How he's doin', school, that type of thing."

"Is he… doing okay?"

"He seems to be just fine." Carole nodded.

"Good." Kurt let out a small sigh.

"Alright, hon. Would you like some sausage and eggs for breakfast?" Carole squeezed his shoulder.

"I can make myself some food." Kurt moved to stand.

"Ah ah ah. The good thing about coming home is having people wait on you hand and foot." Carole gave him a bright smile. "Eggs and sausage?"

"Oh. Sure." Kurt smiled. "Thanks, Carole."

"You're very welcome, sweetie." Carole beamed.

"So, kiddo. Tell me about New York. Your aunts driving you crazy yet?"

***LTC***

"I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU TOOK HER!" Adrian, who was sitting inside of one of Harvard's libraries with Blaine, banged the palm of his hand on a table.

Blaine nudged him as the librarian stood, clearly coming over to yell at them.

"Sorry!" Adrian loudly whispered and then lowered his voice. "We're the only ones even in here. She's probably waiting for us to leave so she can live in a world of silent solitude _forever_."

Blaine snorted loudly as the librarian sat back down.

"Seriously, though. I cannot stand how annoying girls think they can kiss a guy and turn him straight. She's pretty but she's no Natalie Portman." Adrian scoffed. "What did you say?"

"Well _Kurt_ caused a scene so I ran after him."

Adrian's eyes widened.

"Then we fought and then we all left. Ashleigh and I didn't talk about the kiss. I had other things on my mind." Blaine sighed. "I guess we need to."

"Time to pull on your big boy pants and pull the Band Aid off. Tell her she's pretty, blah blah blah, but you'd rather have relations with members of your own sex." Adrian said. "And don't feel bad about it. She knows your gay and still kissed you. _She_ should feel bad. I hate girls like that. They get rude if some straight guy walks up to them in a bar and kisses them spontaneously but they think they're can just to try to turn guys straight with their lips and their breasts? Ugh."

"Has this happened to you before?"

"No but it annoys me. Double standards." Adrian huffed. "I am, however, glad I was right. I like to be right."

Blaine laughed bit.

"Speaking of being in the right…" Adrian, who had slouched down, straightened himself out. "You've gotta talk to AJ."

"Why?"

"Because she thinks you're straight and she likes you. It's not my place to tell her you're gay." Adrian shrugged. "I don't want her to get hurt. She's a good person. You should talk to her now and save her some embarrassment."

"She really thinks I'm straight? I blast musicals in my room all the time. I listen to Taylor Swift."

Adrian cringed. "No. _No_. That girl needed to stop making music back in 2012 when her music started to suck more than it did in the beginning. I don't care if you need a break up soundtrack. Listen to freaking Katy Perry."

"I happen to love Katy Perry but every time I listen to her, I want to sit in the bathtub, in my pajamas, with a tub of ice cream, and cry." Blaine frowned.

"Kurt thing?"

"Something like that." Blaine groaned. "What am I supposed to _say_? Do I have to?"

"I mean, I can't _make_ you. But I wish her crush would end. She keeps trying to get me to agree that you're 'precious' and 'adorable.' It's a good thing she didn't see you before your growth spurt."

"Growth spurt?" Blaine questioned.

"You're at least an inch and a half taller now. Probably two inches." Adrian laughed.

"When did this happen?" Blaine jumped up, glancing down at his jeans. Normally that pair dragged the ground but now they… _fit_.

"I don't know. I noticed it about a month ago."

"That's why it was so much easier when I changed my light bulb…" Blaine thought out loud. "Usually I have to get Wes to help and—why are you laughing?"

"You have got to tell AJ because you keep saying and doing adorable things. It's only going to end poorly for her."

"I'll just quit being adorable around her."

"I don't see how you could turn it off." Adrian shook his head.

"Are you saying I'm adorable?" Blaine questioned, eyebrow arching.

"As someone who has a date with someone tonight that _isn't you_ , yes. You are adorable. You say these funny things, you're oblivious at an alarming rate, you're just… _adorable_." Adrian shrugged.

"Another date?"

"Sort of. Gary's new boyfriend has a friend. I don't know, he's cute on Facebook but we know how that goes." Adrian said before taking a drink from his Coke when the librarian was looking the other way. "So, you're going to talk to her?"

"I guess. I don't really _see_ her a lot. But the next time it seems fit to tell her, I will." Blaine promised.

"Good." Adrian took another drink of his Coke, this time not even bothering to check to make sure the librarian was looking. He then sighed. "I guess I should go."

"Alright." Blaine nodded, watching as he stood up.

"Sorry the charity thing sucked for you." Adrian put his messenger bag over his shoulder.

Blaine shrugged one shoulder. "Sorry you're going on a blind date."

"Not as sorry as _I_ am." Adrian laughed. "See you tomorrow at the internship?"

"Yep. Be safe tonight."

"Got my mace." Adrian jiggled his key chain and flashed a grin. "Bye, Blaine."

"Bye." Blaine looked down at his book when Adrian left, biting his lip.

"Blaine?"

Blaine looked back up, turning in his seat to face Ashleigh.

"Hey…" She looked hesitant. "Can I sit with you?"

"Sure." Blaine moved his bag.

"It might be a tad bit sad you're at the library during summer." Ashleigh teased. "But I guess that's why you're the top student in our year."

"Internship work." Blaine explained, laying his bag over his lap.

"I actually wanted to apologize." Ashleigh took the seat Adrian had sat in. "I shouldn't have kissed you."

"Oh." Blaine looked shocked.

"It's hard being twenty-two and still without that one true love, you know?" She asked. "I know you're gay and I should have respected that. I heard you broke up with your boyfriend though, and I guess I just thought I would try… But I've felt extremely guilty ever since it happened. I would like to say that I am very sorry for… for kissing you. And I hope it won't jeopardize any work… or friendship… we may have in the future."

"Well thanks. No hard feelings." Blaine promised, giving her a small smile.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Blaine nodded. "But… it won't happen. Ever. I'm gold-star gay. I haven't been with a girl and I don't ever plan to be with a girl. It's not that I don't like girls—Actually, I don't really get along with girls that well, to be entirely honest. I get along with you but… I'm not interested. I like guys and that's just who I am."

"I know." She gave him a small smile back. "You forgive me?"

"As long as you don't try to kiss me again, _of course_." Blaine's smile grew. "No harm, no foul."

"Hey, I'm sorry about your boyfriend. That time when we met for coffee with Adrian… it sounded like you really…"

Blaine frowned.

"God, I didn't mean to bring it up like that. Or to upset you. This is probably why you don't like girls, isn't it?" Ashleigh asked.

"It's fine." Blaine bit the inside of his cheek.

"I hope everything works out. I'll see you around." Ashleigh stood, looking at him. "And next year, you better bring it. I'm going for Valedictorian."

"Consider it brought." Blaine said, waving as she walked out. He looked around before banging his head on the table. On the one hand, at least Ashleigh had brought the kiss up to _him_ and he didn't have to worry about that awkwardness. On the other hand, however, he still had to find some way to casually slip in that he was gay to AJ. All while reading up on information to help him during his internship, trying to keep his mind off of being twenty-two and alone, and managing to train his new puppy—which, for the record, had not been going well. There was a reason Kurt had trained Kreacher and that was the fact that Blaine was clearly inept.

What a summer it was turning out to be.

***LTC***

From: AndeBl4

To: KurtHummel

Time: 10:46 pm EST

_Date: 18 July 2015_

_Kurt,_

_I've been thinking a lot about everything between us and there are things I'd like to say to you but not over an email, a phone, or a computer. I'm not ready to talk yet but I'm hoping that in two weeks you'll agree to meet me half way between Cambridge and NYC. I can do it any day the week of August 1-7_ _th_ _because the office I intern for is closed that week for renovation. If you can't meet any day that week, let me know and we'll try to figure something out._

_Also, Ashleigh was my date to the dance but we're not actually dating. She was going to Northern Ohio last week anyway so it was convenient. I don't know why you'd care, though._

_B_


	16. Chapter 16

I tried calling but you must be at your internship. We need to talk over the phone as soon as possible. Please call me when you get this—Alex

Blaine grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off of his face after sitting his phone back on his bed. He'd gone for a walk but had ended up taking a run for no real reason other than the fact that he was getting restless.

Tomorrow was August 6th.

Tomorrow he would be meeting Kurt in Meriden, Connecticut at some café right smack dab in the middle of their schools. At least, the closest they could determine using MapQuest.

Given the fact that he'd be face to face with Kurt tomorrow for an undetermined amount of time… definitely something to be restless over.

Running had helped, surprisingly.

However, Blaine had a feeling whatever Alex had to talk to him about would probably cancel out anything positive that had come from his run.

"I don't want to deal with this now." Blaine groaned as he went into his bathroom, staring at his curls. He really needed a haircut, honestly he hadn't had one in two months and his hair was once again dangerously close to 'afro proximity.' That, according to Wes, was the stage in which Blaine's hair would frizz into an afro when wet or when left to dry itself without product.

"Really don't want to deal with this." Blaine repeated as he grabbed a towel off of his shelf and towel dried his sweat matted curls. "It's always something."

"Talking to yourself is a sign of insanity!" AJ called from down the hall.

Blaine forced a laugh and headed into his bedroom, making sure to close the door behind him. He then paced his floor three times before snatching his phone off of the bed and pressing the "Call" button.

One ring… two… three…

"Hey, Blaine." Came his older brother's familiar voice. He always sounded farther away on the phone and Blaine was never quite sure if it was because he held the phone farther away or if it were because he was in another country. Not that it was important. Sometimes he was just curious about things.

"Listen. If this is about the Derek thing, it's done and I don't want to talk about it." Blaine said before Alex could start on him.

"Who is Derek? This isn't about that." Alex said, sounding confused. "Hang on a sec, Blaine. Danny, honey, no. I already told you that we'll do that after dinner. Sorry, Blaine."

"It's okay." Blaine said, hearing his five ("almost six") year old nephew trying to persuade Alex into something. "Whenever you text me saying we talk on the phone, it's never very a good sign."

"This isn't exactly a good call." Alex sighed. "Danny… No, stop… My God. Hang on again, Blaine. I'm really sorry. Danny, stop or we're not reading Harry Potter tonight at bed time."

"But Daddy!" Blaine could hear his nephew whining in the background. "My shoelace is too tight!"

Blaine snorted when he heard Alex set down the phone, muttering, and then again when he heard Danny running from the room.

"Sorry. He's driving me crazy this week." Alex sighed. "Anyway, how are you?"

"I'm fine now but I have a feeling I won't be by the time we get off of the phone. What's up?"

"It's about Grandmother." Alex hesitated before continuing. "The leukemia. Its terminal."

Blaine nearly dropped the water bottle he was holding.

"I'm… uh… I'm making a trip to Ohio at the beginning of the week. You don't have to come. I'm not trying to make you feel like you do. I know you're not in touch with them and I wanted to make you… aware of the fact that her health has turned for the worst."

"I…" Blaine swallowed. "Oh."

Alex waited a few seconds before speaking again. "Even if you don't want to see Grandmother… I'd still like to come to Cambridge and see you. If that's okay."

"Yeah. Sure. I mean, I'd love to see you." Blaine sat down on his bed, in shock. It wasn't that he had the closest relationship with his family or anything like that. But still. His grandmother was dying. How was he supposed to feel?

All he wanted to do was call Kurt.

Why was his gut reaction still to run to Kurt?

"Are you okay?" Alex asked.

"Fine. I'm fine." Blaine bit his lip. "Hey, I have to go. I have a school… thing. A school thing. So I need to run back to school."

"Blaine, do you want to talk? I'm right here if you do."

"No. No, I… Have a good day. Call me with details and we'll see each other, alright?" Blaine hung up his phone and turned it off, staring out his door and at the hallway wall. He blinked quickly as his eyes suddenly burned.

"Blainer Boo, can I borrow your car? My oil is out and I don't have the money to pay for—uh oh." Wes, who had just come in through the open door, stopped in his tracks. "Blaine?"

"I just got off the phone with Alex." Blaine said, voice emotionless.

"Is everything okay?"

"My grandma is dying."

"Right now?" Wes asked, looking confused.

"I didn't ask questions."

Wes inched farther into the room. "Are you alright?"

"I think I need a minute to let this… sink in." Blaine took a deep breath. It didn't help. Not really.

"Are you upset?"

Blaine stood, shrugging.

"I hate to sound like an asshole, Blaine, but that woman is a bitch. She never did a damn thing to help you when your parents were abusing you." Wes said, speaking slowly. "Just because she's dying doesn't make her any less of a bitch."

"I know." Blaine bit his lip. "This just sucks. If I had a family that gave two shits about me, I'd be on a plane to Westerville right now to spend her last whatever with her and—."

"Stop." Wes moved forward until he was standing directly in front of Blaine.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to feel." Blaine looked him in the eyes. "What am I supposed to feel?"

"Nothing. You're supposed to feel nothing. If the roles were reversed, what would your dear old grandmother do?"

"She'd make a big fuss about how her grandchild was dying even if she hadn't spoken to me in years." Blaine sighed.

"Exactly. Don't give a flying fuck what is going on with your family unless it involves them at our doorstep begging for your forgiveness. And the only flying fuck you will give then is in the form of you slamming the door in their faces—bonus points if you hit your dad's obnoxiously large nose— and telling them to fuck off." Wes pulled him up. "Besides, we were going to talk about tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Are you drunk? You're meeting Kurt tomorrow. You've been inwardly freaking out about it for days." Wes looked shocked.

"I know what I'm going to say. It's fine." Blaine waved his hand. "My car keys are on the table. Take the car. It's cool. As long as it's back by morning when I leave. Go on."

"Blaine…"

"I appreciate it. I do." Blaine closed his eyes. "But I want to be alone right now. I need to think."

"Come out with me. We'll get dinner." Wes insisted.

"No." Blaine shook his head. "Really, it's fine. We'll talk when you get back."

"Do you promise?"

"Yeah. I promise." Blaine nodded. "Have fun."

Wes frowned but nodded back. "I won't be long."

"Okay." Blaine nodded, waiting until he heard his car door shut a minute or so later. He then picked up his phone, scrolled to the only "K" name in there, and began to type out a text.

I need you now.

His finger hovered over the send button before he quickly erased he message and set his phone back on the bed.

Kurt wasn't his to need.

***LTC***

Blaine sat in his car the next day, staring at the restaurant he was supposed to meet Kurt in. He didn't see Kurt's car yet which was a surprise considering Kurt usually sped—especially when driving long distances.

Finally, he blinked and looked down at his phone, tapping out a text.

I'm here whenever you are.

He then sent another one, No rush.

His phone pinged and he looked down to see Kurt's response, Be there soon.

Blaine tried hard to not let his eyes travel to Alex's name. His grandma was in critical condition. Things weren't looking good. Blaine wanted to be updated, or so he'd told Alex, but really he didn't. All he wanted right then was to go back to last year, his last summer with Kurt before Harvard, being happy and excited about life.

Not the alternative—single, nervous about meeting up with his ex, an estranged grandmother on her death bed and not knowing how to feel about that fact. No. The alternative kind of sucked. Kind of really sucked.

How would things go with Kurt? He'd tried to make a plan—a list of things he wanted to say to Kurt. That list didn't seem to be registering in his mind as he sat, rubbing his sweaty palms on his jeans. His phone vibrated and he looked down, seeing a text from Adrian that was wishing him good luck.

Thanks, Blaine sent and jumped when he heard a car door close next to him.

Kurt.

They made eye contact through their windows and Blaine forced himself to get out of the car, legs feeling like they were made of jelly and his breathing seeming to stop in its tracks. How was Kurt so beautiful? Why were things so messed up between them?

"Hey." Kurt, who had locked his own car, came around Blaine's. "How are you?"

"Tired." Blaine said, and it wasn't a complete lie. He really was tired. "Hungry."

"Me too." Kurt didn't break eye contact.

"Kurt, I…" Blaine tried to make himself look away.

"Let's get food." Kurt whispered, finally turning towards the café.

Blaine took a deep breath and followed Kurt into the café, feeling… weird. Usually he went first, holding the door open, leaning to kiss Kurt's cheek as he walked through behind Blaine. Now Kurt held the door open but there weren't any smiles, lingering looks, no words being exchanged or laughter or anything that was them.

"I'm… bathroom." Blaine pointed and then walked off quickly, making his way into the café's too small and too clean bathroom. He took a deep breath, looking in the mirror.

It wasn't even that he was nervous. He hadn't really had it in him to feel nervous about seeing Kurt since finding out about his grandmother. He'd gotten one update from Alex that morning, who was by now in Westerville with his wife Mia and their small son Danny. The verdict—his grandmother was in critical condition. She had anywhere from five days to three months left, some days were better than others, there was really no… telling.

In the event that his grandmother's condition did not worsen, Alex, Danny, and his wife Mia would be meeting up with Blaine the next day. Blaine's father had 'begrudgingly' loaned them a car for the duration of the stay—probably mostly so they wouldn't have to make sure they had rides to places. They were going to take Danny to a local zoo and talk about things not pertaining to 'the situation.' They would have dinner, just hang out. Try to act like normal family for a few hours, Blaine guessed. He still wasn't quite sure how to do that.

Blaine splashed some water on his face and took another deep breath before leaving the bathroom, finding Kurt at a booth with food for both of them in front of him.

"You didn't have to do that." Blaine said, sliding into the booth across from Kurt.

"I know. I figured…" Kurt shrugged, not quite knowing what to say.

"Okay. We can't just do this talking but not talking thing." Blaine sighed. "Otherwise, this will be an entire waste of our day and our gas money."

Kurt made eye contact. "You don't seem like you want to talk."

"Maybe I shouldn't have come." Blaine admitted, frowning.

Kurt cringed.

"No. Not you. I'm a little… distracted. Alex called the other day. My grandmother is dying." Blaine said quickly, as if this were any better.

"Oh wow. She's that sick?" Kurt asked.

"I guess. Today she's in critical condition. Alex is visiting her now. The longest she has is a few months but it's really a guessing game." Blaine took a sip of his coffee.

"How are you taking it?"

"I'm fine."

Kurt gave Blaine a look. "I know you better than that."

Blaine swallowed, looking down at the table, focusing on a scratch in the wood and running his finger over it. "I don't know how to take it. Part of me is numb to the whole thing… The other part of me is upset because there can never be anything between us … ever again. I wasn't really expecting anything but death is so final. And feeling this way makes me upset because nothing would have been there anyway."

"That wasn't your doing." Kurt said gently. "It was hers."

"I am aware of that but it still sucks. I'm annoyed I feel this way but I can't help it." Blaine looked back up. "How is New York?"

"It's great." Kurt said, voice more cheerful than necessary.

Blaine, either too distracted to notice or too polite to call Kurt out on it, smiled a bit. "I'm glad that you like it."

"Thank you for the graduation card." Kurt made eye contact. "And for seeing me. I was beginning to doubt we'd ever be civil again."

Blaine took a bite of the sandwich Kurt had gotten him, mainly to give him time to come up with an appropriate response. He didn't want to jump into the break up talk. But skimming the surface… maybe that was okay.

"I didn't mean that as a stab or anything at you." Kurt quickly added.

"I'm sorry for being a little… excessive after the dance thing." Blaine said, not looking away from Kurt. "I don't know why I got so mad."

"I did make a scene." Kurt admitted.

"You can't help but pull attention." Blaine murmured.

Kurt looked down, not sure if he was supposed to smile or be offended.

"Look… I don't want to have tension between us forever." Blaine cleared his throat. "I miss you. A lot. You were one of my best friends and… you're still the first person I want to call when things happen. I hate that I can't do that."

"I have something for you." Kurt said, reaching into his messenger bag which he had brought in with him. He pulled out a thick envelope and held it out for Blaine.

Blaine reached for it, brushing fingers with Kurt as he took it. He pulled his hand back quickly. "What is it?"

"Open it." Kurt gestured.

Blaine did and several pictures fell out. He resisted the urge to wince, thinking it would be pictures of them, but he relaxed when he saw a picture of Melody in an adorable dress, posing outside of a building.

"She, Carole, and Dad went on a tour of Freedom Elementary since she'll be starting there in the fall." Kurt explained.

"She is starting pre-kindergarten in a few weeks, isn't she?" Blaine asked, staring at the picture with a sad but happy expression on his face.

"She's excited. She wants to play softball. Which has nothing to do with pre-kindergarten, I know, but it's all she prattles on about on the phone." Kurt said.

Blaine went to the next picture.

"Fourth birthday party. She annihilated the cake." Kurt tried to keep the conversation light.

"She's getting so big." Blaine flipped to another picture of her in the garage with Burt, sitting on the hood of a car in adorable overalls.

"I know. Every time I go home, she's taller." Kurt nodded. "And she's talking better now, too. She likes to read. Well, she likes to be read to. She's memorized some books and likes to pretend she can actually read."

Blaine laughed a bit.

"She says you need to visit. She insists you promised you'd teach her to read." Kurt bit his lip.

"She doesn't know about us."

"No. Dad and Carole think she's too young to understand. She doesn't even understand that I don't live an hour away anymore." Kurt took a bite of his own sandwich which he'd yet to eat.

Instead, he kept looking at Blaine. There was something… different. He couldn't quite figure it out but there was definitely something different.

"Do you see Alec a lot?"

"Yeah." Kurt nodded. "How is Wes?"

"He's doing good. He's got this rivalry going with our roommate… who he happens to be competing for the top BioChem student title. They're kind of like you and Alec… except they hate each other. And she is a she."

"Do they hate each other or hate each other?"

"They seem to really hate each other." Blaine shrugged. "But I am pretty oblivious."

Kurt gave a sad sort of smile.

Blaine took a sip of his drink. "How was your fashion show?"

"It went really, really well." Kurt chewed on his bottom lip, hating how tense it felt between them. It weighed on his chest heavily. This wasn't them. Then again, April to almost August. A lot changed in four months.

Blaine sighed a bit and then sat up straight. "So I started an internship a few weeks ago and it's gone really well."

Kurt straightened up as well. This sounded more like old Blaine, the tone, the way Blaine gestured as he spoke. He didn't seem like he was holding back. "What kind of things do you do?"

"Not too much yet. Adrian actually has the same internship—which wasn't done intentionally. We didn't even know we'd both applied for it. It's me, him, and this other guy Tyler." Blaine explained. "So far it's been orientation and basic things. The thing is that they're expanding the amount of employees they have and if I do really well it could turn into a paid job… and if I do really well, it could end up being the law firm that hires me as a lawyer."

"That's great, Blaine!"

Blaine tucked one foot underneath him. "Monday Adrian works with the head lawyer. He's nervous. I have to like two days later."

"Are you nervous?"

"He's supposed to be a hard ass so I'm not overly looking forward to it." Blaine admitted. "But I won't have to work under him much. I think it's mostly so he can meet us… I guess I'm not nervous. I hope he likes me but I'm not too worried about it. I had a great recommendation from three of my instructors. He knows how good I am."

"For what it's worth… I'm glad you're happy at Harvard and that you're doing so well." Kurt said, voice soft. "You deserve every opportunity this brings you. I know how hard you worked for this. And I love how confident you sound. Remember at the hospital after my attack? You acted embarrassed at the thought of applying to a law school and now you're at Harvard Law, impressing lawyers…"

"I haven't impressed anyone yet."

"You've impressed three people enough that you got great recommendations." Kurt smiled. "That's… That's really awesome, Blaine. I'm proud."

Blaine smiled back, eyes lighting up after hearing the words I'm proud. That wasn't something he heard often. And coming from Kurt—

Coming from Kurt what? They weren't together anymore.

Right.

Reality.

"You had a good fashion show." Blaine gestured to Kurt. "And you're in New York. Where you've always wanted to be. I'm proud of you too."

Kurt's smile did not falter but he did look down.

"What?"

"It feels like something's missing." Kurt admitted, looking back up hesitantly. His mind finished the sentence he held back. It feels like you're missing.

Blaine looked down too. "I miss you, Kurt."

"I know. I miss you too."

"I don't think you understand. I really miss you." Blaine looked up. "I hate that we're in this mess."

Kurt took a deep breath and repeated, "I really miss you too, Blaine."

"It's like… something's missing. Like you said." Blaine swallowed and rubbed his palms on his jeans. "Do you remember when I skipped school to watch that Digimon marathon with David and Wes in junior year at UK?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Of course I remember that."

Blaine laughed a bit. "Apparently there's going to be some convention—."

"Oh God."

"And David wants to go. It's at the end of the summer."

Kurt laughed. "Are you going to?"

"I don't know. It feels like a waste of money." Blaine shrugged and laughed. "But I don't have anything better to do."

"You should do it. You never really go places and spend money on yourself." Kurt pointed out.

"You sound like them." Blaine shook his head, smiling. "Now any extra money I get goes to… oh, you'll love this… a dog."

"What? You have a dog?" Kurt asked, eyes widening. "Do you keep it locked up all the time?"

"I'd never!" Blaine pulled his phone out. "We uh… David, Wes and I went to Canada after school was out. It was meant to be a trip to Harbor Springs but I fell asleep and woke up in a hotel in Canada, which really shouldn't be a surprise with those two. Long story short, we got kicked out of one hotel because we were surfing downstairs on a staircase—."

Kurt covered his face, shaking his head.

"And Wes' head went through the wall." Blaine laughed loudly. "And I can't remember that but David says it was hilarious. But—This isn't a very short version, is it?— I was asleep at the next hotel and they found a puppy in the box in the rain. Apparently, they thought it was fate or something. So now she's mine."

"Is that a picture?" Kurt leaned over the table to look at Blaine's phone.

"Yes."

"She's so cute!"

Blaine nodded. "She's very cute but the vet thinks she might have been mistreated. Well clearly she was if they left her in a box in the rain. She's gaining weight, though. She's peculiar about people. She usually hides when we have visitors. Under my desk. Wes put her a little bed there so she'd be more comfortable."

"Her eyes." Kurt said.

"You can look through. There's tons. Half of them AJ takes."

"AJ?" Kurt questioned, taking the phone and flipping through the pictures.

"The new roommate."

"What ever happened with the old one?"

Blaine looked embarrassed. "It's not an interesting story."

"Those are the best ones when it comes to you."

"We got into a fight and I gave him a nosebleed. So he moved out." Blaine shrugged.

"That guy was an asshole anyway." Kurt passed over his phone.

"Kurt, you're condoning violence?" Blaine looked surprised.

"He's an exception to the rule." Kurt said, making eye contact again. "Extenuating circumstances."

"Wes told me about what happened with Derek and I know you and Wes have talked since then. Uhm… Don't feel bad about the Facebook thing."

"They were able to get to you through me." Kurt frowned.

"I know my family. They would have done it some other way. To be honest, I'd been expecting something. Things had been calm too long." Blaine looked at him, not seeming nervous to be around Kurt, upset to be talking about his family. Just normal. "I'm sorry about the whole thing over Christmas. I kind of gave Dad exactly what he wanted."

"Derek's a pig." Kurt's frown grew.

"I don't really want to talk about it… But I don't want you to be upset about it either." Blaine paused and then added as an afterthought, "And thanks for slapping him. Apparently he's your exception to the rule."

"I heard you got violent with him as well." Kurt pointed out.

"I haven't done a great job of controlling my temper obviously." Blaine admitted.

"Both of them deserved it."

Blaine glanced at his phone which had begun to ring. Alex. He pushed ignore and pocketed it.

"Do you want to call him?" Kurt asked. "I can go outside."

"I really don't want to. I'm trying really hard to distance myself from this whole thing. I've got so much going on. She's never done much for me, she's never cared for me, and I don't see why I should get bent out of shape over her." Blaine said.

Kurt tilted his head slightly, watching him.

"I don't want to care but I do. It's frustrating." Blaine scowled and busied himself by taking a big gulp of his drink.

"You're a good person. That's why you care. But you're right. They don't deserve it. You've done a good job of moving on. Don't let them effect you."

"Sometimes it's not that easy." Blaine said, seeming to be more open to talking about it now that they weren't together. Which was weird. "It's not like I really thought things would be okay one day. I don't want a relationship with them. But this is just… so final. You know?"

Kurt looked at him but didn't speak. It wasn't his place to say—especially not anymore. He wanted to say that Blaine was too nice, he shouldn't have given anyone in his family a second thought, that Blaine was too good for them, that he shouldn't have cared thatthe woman who played part in abusing him for years was dying. Then again, maybe thinking those thoughts made Kurt a horrible person.

However, he'd given up the right to voice his opinion in April when he'd broken up with Blaine.

And honestly, even if they'd been together… It still wouldn't have been his place to say those things. Instead, Kurt just kept his thoughts to himself.

"I know what you're thinking. The same thing Wes has been saying." Blaine sighed.

"You'll be okay, Blaine. You're a strong person." Kurt finally spoke. "A lot stronger than you give yourself credit for."

"You might be right. These last four months have been hell."

Kurt winced. He couldn't help it.

"I didn't mean—Shit. I'm sorry." Blaine frowned.

"You don't have to apologize." Kurt took a sip of his drink. Well, they weren't fighting so that was good, right? However, he would have rather they be fighting than to see Blaine… sad? He sure seemed sad.

Blaine looked up at the ceiling and counted one, two, three, three and a half, four, four and a half, five, before looking back at Kurt.

"Do you remember when Melody spent the night and had her poop explosion?" Kurt asked. "And we had to give her a bath?"

"That was so disgusting. I don't understand how that much poop came out of such a tiny child." Blaine cringed. "I don't know if I'll ever forget that."

"You kept holding her out at arm's length like if the poop touched you, you'd get infected." Kurt laughed. "And you wanted to use the spray hose in the kitchen sink."

"Needless to say, that wasn't my brightest idea." Blaine laughed a bit. "And then she started dancing in the tub and splashing us."

"God, she won't let me near the bathroom if she's taking a bath now. 'YOU'RE A BOY! YOU HAVE COOOOTIES!'" Kurt laughed.

Blaine laughed, this time a little louder. "I miss her."

"She misses you too." Kurt gave a small smile. "Everyone does."

"How are your aunts doing?" Blaine asked.

"Taylor is at the bookstore a lot. They're debating switching locations. She doesn't want to but she's getting a lot of pressure to." Kurt responded. "Paige is teaching summer classes half of the time. When she's not teaching, she's begging Taylor to grade her student's essays."

Blaine laughed. "Finn and Rachel?"

"Wedding planning." Kurt said. "It's all wedding, all the time. I guess that makes sense since the wedding is getting closer. It's obnoxious but they're so happy that it's hard to be too disgusted."

"At least they're happy." Blaine said, smiling a bit.

"Do you want to… go for a walk? Or something?" Kurt asked as he finished his drink. "I mean… I don't know what we could do in Meriden, Connecticut but… I'm not ready to leave yet."

Blaine looked at him.

"Unless you are."

"I'm not." Blaine stood, downing the rest of his coffee.

Kurt reached over, taking the cup and fixing the lid. "Some things never change."

"I gave up a long time ago." Blaine shrugged.

"I know. It's just funny because somehow you managed to make it come off. I'm the one that put the lid on it." Kurt smiled. "Come on. Let's see what we can find."

Blaine stood and smiled at a woman walking by. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, sweetie." The woman smiled.

"We're not from here. Do you all have—?"

"Two attractions." She smiled again. "Hubbard Park and Guiffrida Park. Guiffrida gets a little crowded, though, so that's something to keep in mind. Do you need directions?"

"No ma'am. I've got a GPS. But thank you very much!" Blaine turned to Kurt. "Hubbard Park it is?"

"Hubbard Park it is."

…

"I guess that's what the hype is." Blaine said, pointing into the distance nearly two hours later.

"What?" Kurt asked.

"The castle."

They hadn't talked the whole time. They might not have even talked half of the time but Kurt wasn't going to complain. He had now been with Blaine for three hours and four minutes. Not that he was counting.

"Huh." Kurt said, looking at the castle. "It's nice."

"This view is amazing." Blaine plopped on the grass and looked around.

Kurt sat by him, close but not too close.

"How come we never did stuff like this when we were together?" Blaine asked after several moments.

"We went places. We went to Michigan, New York, Chicago…"

"No. Just… sit." Blaine sighed. "I can't remember the last time we just sat and we weren't both working on homework or watching television or…"

"I don't know." Kurt whispered, staring at the castle. "Why did we do a lot of things we did? Why didn't we do a lot of the things we didn't do?"

Blaine pulled his legs up, resting his chin on his knees. "Today has been nice, Kurt."

Kurt looked at him, shocked.

"I don't want us to not be friends. I don't want to not see you or talk to you." Blaine frowned, looking sad. "I miss you and I miss us together but I miss you as a friend the most. I know I said I hated you but I don't."

"I knew you didn't." Kurt whispered.

"I want you in my life. Even if it's a text a week or…" Blaine took a deep breath.

"I want you in my life too." Kurt scooted so he was in front of Blaine, so Blaine had no choice but to look him in the eyes.

Blaine nodded once and bit his lip.

"Do you think…?" Kurt trailed off. Maybe it was too much to ask. To ask if Blaine thought they'd ever be together again. If they were completely ruined as a couple.

He was scared of Blaine's answer.

He couldn't see himself with anyone but Blaine. But what if Blaine couldn't see them together forever anymore? Could he really blame him if that were the case?

"Think what?" Blaine questioned.

"Never mind." Kurt shook his head, forcing a smile.

"No. Ask."

"Is there a chance… for more… ever?"

Blaine took a deep breath and looked past Kurt's head.

Ouch, Kurt thought.

"Right now I think we should focus on fixing our friendship." Blaine finally answered. "It's too soon to talk about us in a relationship because... there's a lot of stuff that we need to own up to. There's stuff we need to talk about, work on… Because if we don't get that stuff fixed, it's going to be the same cycle we've had for years. And I can't do another break up, Kurt. I don't know how I'm doing this one."

Kurt reached over, putting his hand over Blaine's. They made eye contact as Kurt rubbed his thumb over the back of Blaine's knuckles. Blaine, who was hugging his legs to his chest as he sat, resisted the urge to move his leg.

He wanted Kurt to grab his hand but that was silly. Especially after what he'd just said.

He had to be the only person giving themselves mixed signals.

"That's not a no." Kurt spoke after nearly a minute of silence.

"No. It's not." Blaine bit his lip. "It's not quite a yes yet, either."

Keyword yet, Kurt thought to himself as he rubbed his thumb over Blaine's knuckles some more.

They must have looked strange, sitting on the grass, Blaine with his head on his knees and hugging his legs, Kurt's hand on one of Blaine's.

That didn't matter, though.

They were some semblance of together and for Kurt, that was more than enough.

…

"I should really start heading back." Blaine said reluctantly another two hours later, standing between their cars.

"Me too." Kurt nodded, not ready to leave Blaine yet.

"Can we… Will we talk again, Kurt?"

"As soon as you want to." Kurt promised.

Blaine smiled a bit and nodded.

"Skype, text, phone, whatever."

"You hate talking on the phone." Blaine pointed out.

"You've always been an exception." Kurt responded, smiling back.

"Thank you for meeting me." Blaine made eye contact.

"Thank you for meeting me too." Kurt didn't blink, wanted to stare into his eyes forever.

Blaine nodded.

"Don't worry about stuff." Kurt said after clearing his throat. "With your family. And I know you will, because you're you… so, feel free to call me about it. Any time."

"I never told you this. Maybe I should have." Blaine looked down at his feet before looking back up at Kurt, almost shyly. "You know, Wes and David are good about cheering me up but sometimes they don't really get it… Especially when it comes to stuff with my family. But you… even if you don't get it, you do. Talking to you about it always makes me feel better."

"That's why you should call me about it." Kurt whispered. "We're working on the friendship, right? When we first became friends you knew my problems right off that bat. I didn't know yours. Maybe this can be a redo, role reversal type thing."

"Maybe." Blaine laughed a bit. "But… You really… It's okay if I call?"

"Please do. I'll worry about you otherwise." Kurt looked behind him as a family clambered into a large van, little kids chattering loudly.

"You don't have to worry about me."

"It's never stopped me before." Kurt pointed out.

Blaine stepped forward, arms going around Kurt in a hug. He didn't plan for it to happen. In fact, when planning their goodbye in his head, it was number one of things that shouldn't happen. Yet, here he'd done it.

Kurt's arms went around his waist and he pulled Blaine closer. "You've gotten taller."

Blaine couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I've been trying to figure out if it was the hair or the weight or what and that's it."

"I didn't know until someone pointed it out."

Kurt's grip tightened around Blaine's waist, which was noticeably thinner.

It seemed like it was five minutes before Blaine pulled back a bit, looking sheepish. Had it been that long? Probably not.

"Call me. Please." Kurt whispered, arms falling at his side.

"What if I beep you?"

Kurt arched an eyebrow.

"Call me, beep me, if you want to reach me…"

"My God. You're such a big kid." Kurt laughed.

Blaine smiled. "I'll call."

"How long before I have to worry about you?" Kurt asked.

"Thursday. I'll call by Thursday. I'm going to be pretty busy until then." Blaine said, pulling his keys out of his pocket. "Bye, Kurt."

Kiss his cheek, Kurt thought.

No, don't.

Kurt leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Blaine's cheek, praying he wouldn't regret it.

"Thanks." Blaine mumbled before pulling his car door open. "Drive safe."

"You too, Blaine." Kurt walked around, to his own car.

"Thanks?" Blaine echoed himself after shutting his door. "Thanks?"

He waited for Kurt to back out before backing out himself, shaking his head.

"He kisses my cheek and I say thanks? This is why I shouldn't be allowed out in public."

***LTC***

"I don't believe this!"

Eric, who had fallen asleep on a reclining chair in his and Alec's living room a few days later, shot up. He looked around and then glared at Alec.

"Oh, I told you to go into the other room. It's not my fault you're such a light sleeper." Alec said before offering Eric a sweet smile.

"Sorry." Kurt said in a loud whisper, giving him a sympathetic smile.

"Hope that didn't make you want to sell some doors for a coffeemaker." Alec said as Eric stood, rubbing his eyes.

"Now that you mention it, I am a little thirsty." Eric winked at Kurt and then yawned. "It was nice to see you, Kurt."

"You too, Eric. Sorry again." Kurt laughed.

"Love you too, dear!" Alec called after Eric. "Poor thing is always tired since he got sick."

"It seems like he's been tired since he got to New York." Kurt pointed out, making himself comfortable on Alec's couch.

Alec, who was on the floor and looking at sketches while Project Runway played on the TV behind him, looked back up. "You know, it's taking him longer to adjust to all the noise. He's gotten better about it. But enough about Eric. I want to hear about your 'interaction' with Blaine."

Kurt tucked his foot underneath him. He had the distinct feeling he was going to be there a while despite the fact that he'd meant to leave an hour ago. It had been a few days since he'd seen Alec, though, so staying longer than he planned didn't bother him too much.

"I mean, we mostly talked about neutral stuff… But he misses me. He told me so." Kurt looked down. "He was really upset, though. His grandmother is dying. He's not close to his family but I can tell it's upsetting him."

Alec frowned. "That's sad."

"I feel bad for him but I find it very hard to feel bad for that bitch." Kurt said before his eyes widened. Yes, he'd said that out loud.

"His family must have been really bad." Alec looked surprised. Kurt was not one to usually curse.

"We went on a walk in this park." Kurt said, not commenting further on Blaine's family. "We walked up to this castle and… I mean, at first it was really awkward. We were uncomfortable and scared… But as time passed it got easier to talk to each other. We didn't talk the whole time. Some of it we just sat there."

"But he said he missed you?" Alec asked.

"Yeah." Kurt nodded once. "And I told him I missed him too."

"Well did you two talk about the break up?"

"He wasn't ready. And to tell you the truth, I wasn't either." Kurt admitted. "I think we're taking things slow… As Blaine put it, there's a lot we have to fix before we can take anything that far… and for right now, I'm glad to have him in my life any way."

"Did you two kiss?"

"No. We hugged at the end and I kissed his cheek."

Alec looked like he wanted to melt. "Oh, that's so cute. Who initiated the hug?"

"Blaine did."

"Oh God." Alec, if possible, looked like he wanted to melt even more. "Kurt, that's so good!"

"I don't want to push anything. We're going to talk Thursday probably."

"And you have a time set up to talk." Alec moved to sit by him on the couch. "And you kept this to yourself all weekend!"

"We haven't seen each other." Kurt shrugged. "And I haven't talked to anyone, really. My dad doesn't even know I went to see him."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"I'm going down Wednesday to spend a week with them." Kurt nodded. "Before orientations start and all of that. I'll tell him then."

"Do you think you two will get back together?"

"I can't see myself with anybody else. In the beginning, when we could barely talk… I began to think that maybe we were done. But after we got to talking… It was so hard to leave. I had to force myself to let go of him, to make myself go to my car, even to back out." Kurt closed his eyes. "I can't see myself with anybody else. If we don't get back together, I don't know how I'll ever find someone that makes me feel the way he makes me feel."

"It's not over." Alec said, sounding much more confident than Kurt felt. "How long were you there?"

"Seven hours I think."

"Oh, Kurt. It's not over at all." Alec said. "Why would he spend seven hours with you if it were?"

"I mean, we agreed to work on the friendship." Kurt said.

I really don't want to get my hopes up and mess this up…

"Do you know how long the conversation lasted when Eric cheated on me and we almost broke up?"

"How long?"

"Thirteen hours. Well, technically fifteen. My parents made him leave when they went to bed and he came back two hours later." Alec said. "If I hadn't wanted to work on it, he would have been gone in less than one."

Kurt bit his lip.

"You don't spend long hours with exes unless it means something, Kurt. Seven hours is a long time." Alec paused. "See? Letting him come to you worked."

Kurt bit his lip harder in an attempt to keep himself from smiling.

"You can smile. You can be happy about this!" Alec laughed.

"We're not back together yet. We haven't even begun to talk about problems or fixing them or anything." Kurt said reasonably. "I don't want to get excited too early. It could still backfire."

"Progress is progress." Alec shook his shoulder gently. "Let yourself enjoy the fact that you spent seven hours with Blaine and it ended on a positive note. This is what you've wanted for a really long time."

Kurt finally smiled. "I don't know what we're going to talk about Thursday but it can't get here fast enough."

"I'm happy for you." Alec's smile grew. "I really and truly hope that this works out between you two. You were a really cute couple."

Kurt's smile grew too. "Thanks."

"Come on. Let's have some ice cream to celebrate." Alec hopped up. "Do you like cookie dough ice cream? We've got that and boring vanilla."

"I'd like boring vanilla, please." Kurt stood and followed him into the kitchen.

"I think Eric's got some hot fudge sauce around here somewhere…" Alec mumbled, standing on his tiptoes and looking into a cabinet.

"I like it plain." Kurt reassured him, pulling open their freezer and pulling out both cartons of ice cream.

"Healthy eaters are so strange."

***LTC***

"I hope I never have to work for Bob again. It was horrible." Adrian plopped in Blaine's front yard the same Monday, stretching his legs out. "I don't think he realizes how much you don't know after your first year at Harvard. He was spitting off all this stuff for this guy and I to do and we'd never even heard half the vocabulary."

"I work with him Wednesday." Blaine sat by him, sighing.

"I get that an internship is supposed to be a learning experience. I do. But you can't learn if they don't tell you how to do the freaking stuff. He didn't say it but you could tell that he thought Tyler and I were complete idiots. And—oh my God—he was like 'You're the student Rivers highly recommended?' Screw that guy. I'm a good student and I earned the recommendation the same way anyone else gets a recommendation." Adrian ranted.

"Is he really that bad?"

"It's not outright rudeness but you can feel him judging you or something. I don't know. He wasn't as hard on Tyler." Adrian groaned. "It's so cool here compared to summer in Colorado."

"Ohio kind of fluctuates." Blaine frowned.

"Did you watch Big Brother last night?" Adrian perked up.

"I've never seen that."

"Oh my God. Turn off Netflix and watch it tonight. I got the channel where you can watch them from like eleven at night until three in the morning and I think I'm addicted." Adrian said.

"Can't. I promised I'd check out the GSA tonight." Blaine cringed.

"Gay Straight Alliance or Governor's School for the Arts?"

"The first. He thinks I need to meet other gay people." Blaine snorted.

"What am I? Chopped liver?"

"He goes back and forth between thinking we're secretly dating to thinking you're not even gay."

Adrian snorted. "Do I need references? Or he could go to my Facebook. If he goes back through my pictures far enough he'll see—."

"Things that shouldn't be on the internet." AJ walked up. "Adrian, why are you laying in my front yard?"

"Putting my moves on your roommate. I was hoping Wes would walk up. He doesn't think I'm gay."

"He doesn't know anything past scientific formulas, numbers, and breasts." AJ waved her hand.

Blaine snorted loudly.

"Did you hear Blaine got in a fight when he was in Ohio?" Adrian pushed himself into a sitting position, straightening his shirt.

"Wes won't shut up about it. She's heard." Blaine answered before AJ could.

"I think I would pay to see you go off on someone. I can't picture it." Adrian said. "You're so quiet and…"

Blaine arched his eyebrow.

"I was going to say short but you've gotten taller since last fall when we met." Adrian shrugged. "I was trying to think of another word to describe you."

"Adorable?" AJ offered.

"Sure. Why not?" Adrian shrugged and shot a look in Blaine's direction that clearly said, See. I told you that you were adorable.

"What's that look for?" AJ questioned.

"Nothing." Adrian shrugged. "Can you tell your mother that I request homemade fudge? The peanut butter kind and the chocolate kind."

"No because every time she sends it to you, she sends it to me. And I think it's disgusting."

"Exactly so you give it to me." Adrian gave her a sweet smile. "Please?"

"Fine." AJ sighed before going into the house after locking her car with her key remote.

They both looked up when Wes pulled into the driveway.

"Should I?"

"Do what?"

"Try to prove my sexuality."

"Please don't." Blaine laughed.

"Hi, Wes!" Adrian said, waving.

"Hello." Wes waved back, getting out of his car. "Sup, Blainers?"

"Learning about all the fun I'm going to have on Wednesday when I work with the head lawyer." Blaine sighed.

"Don't talk about it. It was horrible." Adrian groaned. The mere thought of his shift at the office was enough to ruin his good mood—at least temporarily.

"Hey… you're gay, right?" Wes asked, eyebrow arching.

"Would I spend this much money on work clothes for an internship if I weren't?" Adrian gestured at his outfit.

"Would you sit on the ground in them if you were?" Wes asked.

"Touché." Adrian looked at Blaine. "He's got me there."

"Wes…" Blaine threatened.

"The thing is… I know we were going to get dinner tonight after you get back from the Gay Club—."

"GSA." Blaine corrected.

"But this girl—."

Blaine cut him off. "Fine. It's cool."

"Really? I mean this is like the third time I've done this."

"Fourth." Blaine corrected him again. "Whatever. Have fun."

"Are you mad?"

"No. It's cool. Really." Blaine promised.

"You're the best!" Wes exclaimed. "I'll make it up to you tomorrow. I promise."

"Yeah, sure." Blaine gave a careless wave as Wes ran into the house to 'get ready.' "Are you doing anything tonight?"

"Watching Gary and his boyfriend almost go at it on the couch I bought?" Adrian asked.

"Wanna get dinner and go to the 'Gay Club?'" Blaine snickered.

"Why, Blaine, I thought you'd never ask." Adrian flung his hand to his chest. "This is all so overwhelming."

"Shut up." Blaine laughed.

"If I'm doing that, though, I'm going to go home and change out of my work clothes. What time did you want to get there?"

"It starts at seven. If we leave in half an hour we can get dinner first." Blaine suggested. "I'll pick you up?"

"And they said chivalry is dead." Adrian teased as he stood up. "See you in half an hour, Blaine."

"See you." Blaine waved and headed inside to change his own clothes.

…

"Preston Creed. I've never seen you here before."

Blaine looked up, startled, as an older guy held out his hand. He felt Adrian kick him and stuck out his hand. "Blaine Anderson. I'm about to be a second year student."

"Great! I've heard a lot about you from one of your instructors. Rosalie Maddox? She speaks very highly of you." Preston said. "I'm surprised you have enough time to come to a GSA."

"Well it is summer. That cuts down on school work substantially." Adrian muttered to where only Blaine could hear him. Not that the other guy was paying attention to him anyway. He then said, much louder, "I'm going to run to the restroom real quick. Be back in a few, Blaine."

Blaine shot him a look as he left. Traitor.

"So, why are you here exactly? Not that we aren't glad to have you. We don't have a very big GSA here, though, and it's very rare for anyone to stop by meetings during the summer… As you can see." Preston gestured where three kids were sat, two of them guys their age making out and the other a girl who looked bored.

"Truthfully? I don't really know." Blaine admitted, looking at the guy—Preston. He looked very rich, dressed in nice work clothes despite the fact that it was like a sauna outside. It definitely made Blaine, who was in shorts and a Harvard t-shirt, feel underdressed. The only thing that did make him feel better was that the bored girl was in shorts as well. "I've never actually been to a GSA before. My friend and I thought it sounded like a neat idea."

Lies. You don't even want to be here.

"Unfortunately it's not too exciting right now but it's better once classes start up, I promise." Preston said, smiling kindly. "Tell me. What kind of law do you want to go into? You look like you want to do Business Law."

Blaine cringed. "Not exactly."

"Criminal Law?"

Maybe if you'd give me a chance to actually answer, you'd figure out, Blaine thought to himself. Then he felt bad, though. This guy was only trying to be nice. Blaine really was turning into an asshole lately. "I'm interested in Criminal Law, Civil Rights, and Business Law. I think it'd be very boring to do one type of case."

"You're ambitious. I like that!" Preston said. "Have you joined any school organizations? It really helps get your name out there with instructors and other people you might come to meet. And, believe me, you meet a lot of people. Besides, you'll pick up on stuff that will make you look even better than you already do. I belong to five other ones excluding the GSA. This one I just help run for kicks."

"Which ones are you in?"

"Let's see. I joined the Coalition Against Gender Violence, the National Lawyers Guild, and the Student Bar Association in 1L. I joined the Association for Law and Police and the National Lawyers Guild in 2L." Preston explained. "Those are all in the Professional Interest category, though. They have practice organizations where you can learn and practice real life skills when you leave here and have a job, working with professionals. Harvard has tons of options. You should look into them. Do you have an internship yet?"

"Yeah. At CMJ." Blaine nodded.

"That's a great internship. They've got Robert Colloway, Brian Shepperd, and Vince Manning all of whom are big lawyers in town. How did you score that?" Preston looked impressed. "As a 1L?"

"Maddox called Robert Colloway personally."

"Wow. That doesn't surprise me, though. Hey, I better go and get started on some paperwork. We don't have enough people to have a meeting. But let me give you my number. In case you know, you have questions about after school programs, classes to take, or anything at all."

Adrian came over, looking amused as Preston put his number into his phone.

"That guy is in like five after school programs!" Blaine said once Preston gave a nod to Adrian and walked away. "Plus the GSA."

"Isn't that a tad bit overkill?" Adrian asked, leaving the room. "I'm wondering how in the hell I'll be able to balance an internship and classes. I know! He's a robot."

Blaine shrugged and followed him.

"Are you saying you'd be involved in that many committees?"

"No. Two has always been my max. In high school it was soccer and glee club."

Adrian choked on his own spit before bursting into loud laughter.

"Oh, shut up!" Blaine snapped. "I sound excellent."

"God as long as you weren't the lead sing—."

"Jealous?"

Adrian shook his head, laughing still. "No."

"It's how Kurt and I met."

Adrian quit laughing. "Aww. You met him in Glee club?"

"Well I serenaded him with Teenage Dream. Long story."

Adrian, surprisingly, did not laugh at that. "Sorry. I wasn't laughing at you."

"Yes, you were!" Blaine pointed at him. "That's rude."

"What if we're not in the same group next year?" Adrian suddenly asked.

"Nice knowing you." Blaine grinned.

"Jerk." Adrian laughed.

"You clearly weren't paying attention. The groups stay the same." Blaine reassured him. "Afraid you'll miss me?"

"Nah." Adrian shrugged. "How's your grandma doing?"

"How did—."

"AJ told me. I think she thought I knew." Adrian explained.

"My brother hasn't texted me yet today so I'm sure she's still alive."

"Ouch." Adrian cringed.

"I'm not exactly on close terms with my family." Blaine confessed. "They are actually horrible people."

"Even your brother?"

"He moved to Italy when I was a toddler. I don't know him that well." Blaine shrugged. "He seems nice enough. He tries to help me out financially and stuff to make up for not being here. But it sucks because we don't act like real brothers. I've only met his wife once and that was a few days ago."

"If I had an older brother who lived in Italy, I would not be here right now." Adrian laughed.

"The thought of going to Italy to stay with him is weird." Blaine admitted.

"Speaking of things that weird you out, my friend is trying to set me up with someone they met online." Adrian shuddered. "As in, they've never ever met in person."

"That's dangerous. You're not going to do it, are you?"

"Hell no." Adrian shook his head. "No way. I'm not desperate. I'm really not even interested."

"Why do your friends always try to hook you up with people, on blind dates?"

"I am of the opinion that love finds you. They are of the opinion that you have to seek it out. I am also a people pleaser. See where this is going?" Adrian asked.

"Do you ever have fun on them?"

"Are you asking me if I sleep with random people?" Adrian laughed.

"No! I mean legitimate fun!"

Adrian laughed again. "Sometimes but I haven't liked any of them. I already met my quota of charity dates for the summer, though." He then muttered, "Thank God."

Blaine walked in silence, not knowing what to say.

"I'm sorry, though… about your grandma." Adrian's voice was much gentler. "If you want to talk, I'm here for you. I don't know the situation or anything but… I'm a good listener."

"Thanks." Blaine forced a smile.

"How was meeting Kurt?"

Blaine groaned. "I've never wanted to get out of a place just as badly as I never wanted to leave before."

"Are you two going to work on the relationship?"

"We're going to work on the friendship and if that takes us further… then okay." Blaine bit his lip.

"You missed him."

"I hate that I do." Blaine admitted. "I don't really want to talk about it, though. I'm trying to not think about it."

"Why don't you want to think about it?"

"Because I want to text him or call him or something but I'm too afraid to… do it. We ended on good terms when I saw him in person and…" Blaine trailed off.

Adrian looked at him patiently.

"And I don't want to risk us getting into another argument and feeling hurt and confused and angry." Blaine frowned.

"But if you talk to him more, you might make things better. You two said you wanted to work on the friendship… Friends talk." Adrian said. "Talk about things that don't have serious emotional attachments. If you don't want to be his friend, though, be done with it. Make it clean cut. If you tell him you want to work on it and then just don't call, that kind of makes you a dick."

"I do want to work on it. I'm just afraid to make it bad again. I have a big mouth and I'm oblivious sometimes… Especially when it comes to Kurt."

"Kurt's got to expect it won't be sunshine and daises right away… Just like you do."

"The whole time I'm just going to be waiting for the break up talk." Blaine groaned.

Adrian gave him a sympathetic look.

"I don't like owning up to stuff I did wrong." Blaine sighed. "I think that's something I get from my father."

"Everybody messes up sometimes, Blaine. Generally break ups are both people's fault unless cheating is involved." Adrian looked down. "Kurt's apologized to you. You should probably return the favor at some point or another."

Blaine let out a noise between a scoff and a sigh before nodding. "I know. It would be easier if he was the only one to blame. Now that I've cooled down and thought about it… I really don't want to talk about it anymore."

Adrian nodded and gave a bright smile. "So… Glee Club? Really?"

"I'm done talking to you!" Blaine laughed.

"Wanna go back to the GSA? Hook up with that guy? I won't judge you." Adrian teased.

"He was just being nice." Blaine protested.

Adrian shook his head. "Maybe he is, but there are at least four people that weren't being nice."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to date anyone in our classes."

"He's not in our classes. And I mean, with all those clubs, he'll probably end up President one day. May as well get in good with him now."

Blaine, who saw they were now in front of his house, turned to walk up his driveway.

"Hey, Wes!" Adrian called as he waved. "Blaine just met the man of his dreams! You should ask him about it!"

"Go home, Adrian!" Blaine called.

"Wait, what?" Wes looked between them.

"He's gonna be President one day!" Adrian said.

"Oh, good. He can reduce the taxes on fast food." Wes grinned. "I approve, Blaine."

Blaine stepped into the house, letting the door slam behind him. He then rolled his eyes when he heard both of them laughing.

Why on Earth had he ever introduced those two?

***LTC***

The drive to Lima had been obnoxiously long and it took everything in Kurt to keep from falling asleep.

Never again, he vowed as he moved himself into a laying position on his father's couch. Never again would he drive from Ohio to New York. Honestly, a plane ticket probably would have been cheaper anyway.

"What were you about to say, kiddo?" Burt asked as he came into back into the living room, two drinks in his hand. He set one on the coffee table by Kurt ("Use the coaster, Dad!") and then sat in his reclining chair.

Normally, he'd be watching television on a Wednesday night. He hadn't seen Kurt in a while, though, and he damn sure wasn't going to waste the first night with his son watching TV.

"I saw Blaine." Kurt answered, sitting back up and taking a drink of his ice water.

"Whadda ya mean, you saw Blaine?" Burt looked surprised.

"We met half way between our schools on Friday." Kurt explained.

"Are you two back together? This is the kind stuff you gotta tell me, kid!"

"No." Kurt said quickly, before his father could get too excited. "We're not back together. We did have a nice day together, though, and that's enough for now."

"Well what'd he say? What'd you say?" Burt asked eagerly.

"We have decided that we're going to work on our friendship and work through some of our bigger problems before we get in a relationship." Kurt said calmly, as though it was rehearsed. Which it was. These kinds of talks, Kurt was learning, needed preparation. "But it was a really good day, Dad. We both miss each other a lot and if we play our cards right… Then I think we'll be okay."

Burt's face broke into a grin. "This is great, Kurt. This is real great!"

"Don't get your hopes up." Kurt interrupted. "The last months were really bad. There's a lot we have to work through… some of the things we need to work through were happening for years. It could be a while."

"I don't care how long it takes. I'm just happy that you boys are working at it." Burt's face did not falter, not even a bit. "What you two have is special, Kurt, and I've been saying it as long as I can remember. You two are gonna make it through this and you're gonna go all the way together. A dad knows these things."

Kurt laughed a bit. "I'm glad you're happy but… I don't think this is going to be fast."

"That's alright, kid." Burt shook his head a few times. "It's alright because you two are going to be a better couple after this. You two got serious way too soon. It's why I tried to get Blaine to go back to UK back then. You were only kids and dealing with adult problems. You two will be better prepared to deal with your issues now and you'll have fresh ground to start on."

"What on Earth are you getting so loud about, Burt?" Carole asked in a hushed voice, coming into the living room. "Melody's just gone to bed."

"Kurt and Blaine are working things out."

"Dad, that's not what I said." Kurt said quickly.

"Really?" Carole asked excitedly. "Oh, Kurt!"

"We're focusing on the friendship right now. That and working on our problems." Kurt explained.

"They went on a date."

Carole's eyes lit up.

"It wasn't exactly a date. It wasn't a date at all. We just talked." Kurt said. "And hugged… and I kissed his cheek… But it wasn't a date."

"I'm so happy!" Carole exclaimed. "Of course it's good that you two are going to work through your problems first. It'll be a longer process but will help in the long run."

"Tell him this is a good thing!" Burt encouraged.

"I know it's a good thing. I don't want anyone to make more out of it than it is, though." Kurt said quickly.

"We're not." Carole reassured him. "We're just happy. You two used to be so happy and we want that for you boys. We want our boys happy."

Kurt smiled.

"Y'know, Kurt," Burt cleared his throat. "I'm glad you brought this up because I've been meaning to talk to you about somethin'."

"Okay?" Kurt asked, turning his attention from Carole to his father. "What is it?"

"In September I'm going to some mechanic's convention. Not mandatory but they're addressing some pretty neat stuff." Burt began. "So I was thinking I could come up and visit you."

"Of course you can." Kurt said, nodding.

"Here's the thing, kid. I wanted your permission to see Blaine too. If you don't want me to or if you think it'd be too hard on him or you… then I won't bring it up." Burt made eye contact. "I won't be upset if you don't want me to."

"No, Dad. It's fine." Kurt shook his head. "I already told you all. I want you to talk to him. I know I wasn't the only one close to him."

"You're sure it's okay?" Burt questioned.

"I'm positive… As long as you see me first. And stay the night with Quinn and I. You'll be coming to see me anyway and you won't have to pay for a hotel. I can show you around Parsons. It'll be great!"

"I told you he'd be okay with it." Carole said, reaching over and squeezing Burt's hand. "Your dad worries about the silliest things sometimes."

"Oh, believe me. I know." Kurt smiled and relaxed against the couch, feeling tired but good—happy. He felt happy.

Soon he would be starting at Parson's, he knew he'd see his Dad within the next five or six weeks, his internship would be starting in a little over two weeks, and things were starting to look up between he and Blaine.

For the first time in a long time, he felt good.

And that was great.


	17. Interlude: Funeral

"Blaine? Did you hear me?"

Blaine shut his car off, not answering the voice on the other end of the phone. Really, Blaine had to know something big was up when Alex called him right as he was getting out of his last class of the day—a sure indicator that the call was very important and, as such, needed to be made as soon as Blaine was free.

Honestly, Blaine should have known why Alex was calling him but he had still been caught off guard. Or maybe he'd heard wrong. That was always a possibility, right?

"Are you okay?"

"What did you say?" Blaine asked slowly, shaking his thoughts away.

"Grandmother… She passed away a few hours ago." His older brother, Alex, repeated.

So he had heard right. He wasn't too surprised; it had mostly been wishful thinking.

"Why? What happened?"

"Ultimately, the cancer. There was too much toxicity, I guess, and she got really bad sick."

Blaine swallowed, looking at his house. Wes was home. Didn't he have a class or something? No. It was Wednesday. He just had study group and his partner was AJ anyway, so he was never gone on Wednesdays anymore because what was the point in going to campus when you lived with your study buddy?

"Are you okay?"

"Are you in the states?"

"No, not yet." Alex sighed. "Sorry. I won't be in the states until… Friday, most likely. I have to go into work tonight."

Blaine nodded although Alex couldn't see this.

"Listen, it's really better this way. She was in a lot of pain these last few months and—."

Blaine tuned Alex out.

He didn't want some image of his sick grandmother in his head. It was much easier to live with the image of her in that restaurant, talking about paying for UK. It was an underhanded thing she did, like everything she ever did. Picturing her sick… feeling sorry for her? He didn't want that image in his head.

"Five o'clock."

"What?" Blaine asked.

"The funeral. It's going to be at five."

"When?"

"Saturday. Blaine, are you okay? I said that two seconds ago." Alex asked. He didn't sound annoyed. He sounded worried. "Do you want to come? I can try to catch a flight to Cambridge and you can come with me."

"I want to go."

Wait, what?

Why?

"Really? After…?"

"I want to go." Blaine repeated. "But I'll get there on my own. You don't have to worry about me. I can catch a plane."

"I'm not worried you can't catch a plane yourself. I'm worried by how you… sound." Alex said. "I'll come down early. I'll try to come tonight."

"No, it's okay." Blaine said quickly.

"Are you sure?" Alex asked.

"I'm sure."

"I'll come if you want me to." Alex said, voice much gentler.

"I know. I'm fine." Blaine frowned as Wes came up to the car, looking confused. Blaine pushed the door open, holding up a finger so Wes wouldn't speak. "Just call me when you get into the states. I'll try to call you later when I make plans."

"Alright. Call me if you want to talk too, okay? I'll keep my phone on me."

"Alright, thanks."

"Bye, Blaine."

"Bye, Alex." Blaine hung up his phone.

"Did your grandma…?" Wes asked.

Blaine nodded. "I have to… I have to get to Ohio I guess. The funeral is on Saturday."

"I have a test Friday morning but I'll go down right after." Wes said without hesitation.

Blaine blinked at him, shocked.

"If you think I'm not going with you, you're crazy." Wes sighed a bit. "Are you okay?"

"I don't think it's fully hit me yet." Blaine admitted. "I was so young when my grandpa died. I didn't really understand… This is, like, the first time someone I known has died and I've known what was going on."

Wes frowned. "Blaine, if I didn't love you I'd be calling you apeshit insane for even contemplating this funeral. She—"

"Did nothing but hurt me. I know." Blaine licked his lips anxiously. "But I need to… go. I need to go."

"Why?" Wes asked, not unkindly. "Why do you need to go?"

"Because my grandmother is dead." Blaine looked him in the eyes. "Maybe it will give me closure or something…"

"If it's what you want, then you should go… And, like I said, I'll be there Friday after my test."

Blaine nodded as his phone began to ring. "It's David's dad. I'll be back."

Wes pulled him into a quick, rough hug. "I've got your back, Blainers. And I am sorry."

"Thanks, Wes." Blaine hugged Wes back tightly before answering his phone. "Hey, Derek… Yeah, I already know… Alex called me ten minutes ago…"

Wes sighed and followed Blaine into the house, pulling Blaine's wallet out of his pocket and going to book Blaine's flight. He wasn't sure exactly what to say to Blaine given the situation, so that seemed like the next best thing…

…

"There is a 4:30 or a 7:50 flight to Ohio. Which do you want?"

Blaine ignored Wes, dialing Kurt's number for the second time.

He wasn't sure when he'd began to freak out. Probably since talking to David's father and making solid arrangements to stay with them until the following week. The fact that neither David nor Wes could be up as early as him wasn't helping. Not that he had expected them to be able to; they were all adults with lives, but still…

Making matters even worse was the fact that Kurt was not answering his calls. He didn't even remember sitting to call Kurt the first time, hadn't realized he'd done it until he'd heard Kurt's familiar voicemail entailing that he probably wouldn't call back… Which was true; Kurt hated phones and hardly ever called anyone back unless it was he, Burt, or Carole.

Blaine closed his eyes, trying to block Wes out. How was he supposed to stay five houses from his parents for that many days without going crazy?

"Blaine, which do you want?" Wes repeated.

"He's not—He's not fucking answering me." Blaine tossed his phone onto the couch, hands shaking. Why was talking to Kurt so damn important anyway? They weren't together.

"Hey…" Wes got up from the computer, setting his credit card on the desk. "Blaine, it's okay."

"It's not okay. He said I could call him and he's—he's not answering. I really need to talk to Kurt."

"Calm down." Wes said gently. "You're shocked and all wound up. Just calm down."

Blaine took a deep breath.

"Good." Wes watched him carefully.

"Should I try to call again?" Blaine asked.

"He's probably in class or at work." Wes reasoned. "He wouldn't ignore you. That's not Kurt."

"I need him right now."

God. Maybe Blaine was a stalker now.

"Sit down." Wes nudged Blaine until he was sitting on the couch. "Which flight do you want? David's dad can pick you up any time."

"The earlier one, please." Blaine sighed, grabbing his phone. No call back yet. Not that it had been more than two minutes since he'd checked last. "I don't even have clothes for it, Wes. Why am I even going to this funeral?"

"I was kind of hoping you'd explain that one to me too." Wes admitted, going to grab his laptop and then sitting next to Blaine on the couch. "I don't know how much closure this will give you if you're freaking out this much."

"I don't know, I don't know." Blaine moaned, tugging at his hair. "This is stupid. Why do I want to go?"

"Clearly you got the loony gene from your mother."

Blaine shot Wes a dark look before sighing. "There's a possibility you're right, Wes."

…

Five missed calls from: B

Kurt pressed 'OK' on the screen of his phone, stomach plummeting when he saw the call list. Something was wrong.

Missed Call: 1:42 PM

Missed call: 2:07 PM

Missed Call: 2:15 PM

Missed Call: 2:47 PM

Missed Call: 3:46 PM

He shoved his phone into his bag, took a deep breath, and looked at Alec who was still gathering his belongings and rambling on about threadcount or silk or something Kurt couldn't wrap his head around at the moment.

Alec looked up, trailing off. "What?"

Kurt pulled his phone back out and held it up for Alec to see.

"Oh, shit." Alec's eyes widened. "Hey, someone's calling you."

Kurt put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Blaine has tried to call you for three hours. His grandma died." Wes said without a hello. "He's really upset."

"I just got out of class and was about to call him." Kurt said, leaving the Parson's studio with Alec right behind him.

"Here, I'm going to take my phone to Blaine. Talk to him… please. He wants to talk to you."

"Alright."

"Is everything okay?" Alec whispered.

Kurt held up his hand and heard rustling as the phone was exchanged. "Hey, Blaine. I was about to call you back. Are you okay?"

"I need you, Kurt." Blaine said, voice composed—too composed. It reminded him of the time he and Blaine had sat in the car in David's driveway all those years ago. Blaine sounded composed then, trying to talk himself into driving past his old house, before completely breaking down.

"Are you heading to Westerville?"

"There's a flight tonight at seven. Hold on." Blaine set the phone down and he could hear he and Wes whispering before a door shut.

"Blaine, are you okay?"

"I don't want to talk about it. I just want you. I'm sorry. I shouldn't even have asked because—."

"Blaine, stop. I'll get on the first flight out. If I can't get a flight, I'll drive. I need time to talk to my professors and my supervisor at the internship." Kurt said quickly. "Calm down."

"I am calm."

"Don't be ridiculous. I know you better than that." Kurt spoke in a firm voice.

"Kurt, she's dead. I don't… I don't know what to do." Blaine took a deep breath.

"I'm so sorry, Blaine." Kurt said, unsure of what to say. It wasn't like Blaine had been close to his grandmother. He didn't know why Blaine was so upset, why he couldn't talk about it, but one thing was clear—he wanted Kurt there.

"I don't know what to do." Blaine repeated, sounding less composed with each word.

Kurt took a few steps away from Alec. He then lowered his voice, wishing he was able to hug Blaine. "It's okay, Blaine. It's okay."

"I have school and an internship and I don't… I don't…"

"Have you made flight arrangements?" Kurt asked, voice gentle.

"Wes made them. I'm going to stay with David's parents."

"Okay, good." Kurt nodded although Blaine couldn't see this. "What about school? And your internship?"

"My professors said I could have off four days. The funeral is on a Saturday, so it works. My internship said to take off as long as I need."

"Then why are you worried about school?"

"I don't know why I'm worried about anything. Wes and David can't come until the night before the funeral and…" Kurt was pretty sure he heard a hitch in Blaine's voice. He was trying not to cry.

"Hey, it's okay. I'll be there tomorrow." Kurt didn't know how he'd be there. He was only allotted so many absences at school and the internship… Well, he had no idea what they would do. It didn't matter, though. Kurt had to get to Ohio. "I can try to make it tonight."

"But you have school and your internship. I shouldn't have asked, Kurt. I'm sorry."

"Hey," Kurt interrupted, voice soft. "You should have asked. You know I love you."

Well, that wasn't supposed to come out.

Blaine didn't speak for a few seconds before he said, "Kurt, I can't—."

"I know. I'm sorry." Kurt swallowed. "Look, I have to go and talk to my professors and stuff. Are you okay? Can I call you back as soon as I leave campus?"

"Yes. I'm okay." Blaine took a deep breath. "Thank you, Kurt."

"Blaine?"

"Yeah?" Blaine asked.

"Go sit with Wes, okay?" Kurt asked.

Blaine let out a noise—Kurt couldn't quite decipher if it was a laugh or a sob. It might have been both. "Okay."

"Promise me."

"I promise." Blaine responded. "Bye, Kurt… Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"No. I really… Thank you so much, Kurt."

"You're welcome, Blaine." Kurt paused, waiting for Blaine to respond. When he didn't, Kurt spoke again. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye." Blaine's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Bye." Kurt hung up and took a deep breath.

"What is going on?" Alec asked.

"Blaine's grandmother just died."

"I thought he wasn't close to his family?" Alec asked, following Kurt back into the classroom building.

"He's not." Kurt said.

"Then why-?"

"I don't know but he wants me there and I'm going." Kurt said, it coming out snappier than it was meant to.

"Sorry." Alec said.

"No. I'm sorry. I don't know why he's upset but I haven't heard them sound like this in a long time and I… He asked for me and I need to get there." Kurt took a deep breath when they reached his lecture hall.

"Want me to wait?"

"No, it's okay. Go on. You need to get home to check on Eric." Kurt said. "Thank you, though."

"Send Blaine our condolences, alright?" Alec asked.

Kurt forced a smile. "I will. Thank you."

Alec squeezed his arm and then left the building.

"Mr. Hummel, what can I help you with?" Kurt's design professor, or Professor Carter, asked once Kurt reached her. She was a tall and thin woman with fire engine red hair and piercing green eyes. She was most known for her eccentric wardrobe, though, which was one of the reasons Kurt loved her so much.

He was fairly certain she would work with him, but he couldn't help but feel anxious asking a favor so early on in the semester.

"I know we're only a few weeks into the class but there's been a death in the family and, if at all possible, I need to get back to Ohio." Kurt made eye contact with her.

Professor Carter nodded, looking sympathetic. "Of course. When is the funeral?"

"Three days, so I'll have to miss Friday's lecture."

"You'll have two free absences left when you return." She responded. "But if something else happens, I'm sure we can work something out. You will for sure be in class on Monday? With your portfolio work up to date?"

He was going to have to find a way, wasn't he?

"Yes, ma'am." Kurt nodded, readjusting the strap on his bag.

"That's good. I'm very sorry for your loss, Mr. Hummel." She placed her tablet computer into her own bag. "We'll see you in class Monday. If you have trouble getting your portfolio assignments done, I suggest you contact me before class rather than during or after. I'll be much more lenient that way."

"I will but I should be okay to get it done. Thank you very much, ma'am." Kurt quickly left the studio and went to find his other professors. He only hoped they were still on campus and that they were as understanding as Professor Carter had been.

…

"They fired you from the internship?"

"Yep." Kurt said, tossing clothes into his overnight bag.

It was two hours later and he needed to be the airport within an hour. This wasn't exactly what Kurt needed at the moment but Rachel Berry was nothing if not incessant. Which is exactly why he was packing and running around as she talked. If he didn't, he'd never get packed and make it in time.

"Don't you have to have one?"

"Yep." Kurt rushed into his bathroom, sidestepping in order to avoid colliding with Finn.

"Isn't this a little much for someone who you are no longer dating?" Rachel asked, following him into the bathroom.

"Rach, it's Blaine." Finn followed them in there.

"There is barely enough room for one person let alone three in here." Kurt said, choosing to ignore Rachel.

"I'm serious, Kurt. What would your father say about you losing an internship to go to some woman's funeral?"

"You know what? Despite whatever is going on between Blaine and me, he is my best friend and I am still in love with him. I fucked up but that doesn't mean he doesn't mean the world to me still. One day, hopefully soon, we will work towards fixing our relationship. In the meantime, one of my best friends needs me and I'm going to him."

"You two have only had, like, three conversations since you met up." Rachel said. "Would he be doing it for you?"

Kurt tossed his face wash into his overnight bag and faced her. What he wanted to say was that, yes, he had no doubts Blaine would have done the same if one of his grandparents had died. He also wanted to tell her to mind her own damn business but, really, he didn't even have time to listen to her ramblings let alone egg them on.

"I'm just saying—." Rachel continued.

"Well don't."

"What if you two don't get back together?"

"Then I will have been with one of my best friends in a time of need." Kurt sighed. "It wouldn't be the end of the world, alright?"

"You never answered me. What would Burt say?"

"If I didn't go, Dad would ask me what in the hell is wrong with me." Kurt retorted. "This isn't about Blaine's grandmother's funeral. It's about Blaine needing support and asking for me."

"His family's bad, Rach." Finn cut in. "It's kinda… big that he's gotta go to this and big that Blaine'd ask him to go."

"Kurt, think about what you're doing." Rachel pleaded. "Do you know how many people you had to beat out for that internship? That was a once in a lifetime opportunity and you threw it away!"

"And I'd do it again every day." Kurt moved past her once more, gathering his bags in his arms. "Thank you for the concern, Rachel. I know in your own weird way you're looking out for me. It's appreciated. But I'm going to Ohio and nothing you do or say will change my mind. You can give me a ride to the airport since I'm out of gas or you can stay here and talk to my bathroom mirror until Quinn gets home and kicks you out. It's your choice."

Finn followed Kurt, immediately pulling the car keys out of his jacket. "C'mon, little bro. I know a way that will take us through less traffic."

"Thanks, Finn." Kurt murmured as Rachel came up, taking one of the bags from Kurt.

"Let's go." Rachel said, hanging Kurt's bag over one shoulder and looping her free arm with Kurt's. "We've got a plane to catch."

***LTC***

Early the next afternoon, Blaine stood in an airport concourse biting his lip and staring at the terminal his ex would soon be walking through. He'd made it to the airport early, intending to think of what to say or do when Kurt walked through that gate.

So far, he'd come up with… nothing. He had no idea what he would say to Kurt. Was he supposed to hug him? Thank him?

Really, all Blaine wanted to do was cry.

There were so many things he wanted to do. He wanted to kiss him, hug him, ask to get back together right then and there so he'd never be alone again. He wanted to break down and sob into Kurt's shoulder because he'd only felt completely comfortable crying to Kurt and he'd been holding it in since he had gotten the phone call. Lastly, part of him wanted to just talk. Talk about why he was upset, why that upset him, why he felt so frustrated with himself for caring.

There were things he was afraid to say to David or Wes. Things that would undoubtedly worry David, that Wes wouldn't understand. True to his words the last time he'd seen Kurt, there were things Kurt just got. He didn't have to be afraid to open up to Kurt when it came to family things. Kurt was able to understand on some level that his friends weren't; Kurt was able to comfort him in a way that David and Wes attempted but had never quite mastered.

"Hey."

Blaine looked up, David's father's car keys now gripped so tightly in his hand that Blaine was positive there would be an indent. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

"Come here." Kurt whispered, dropping his two bags and wrapping his arms around Blaine's waist.

"Thank you so much." Blaine choked out before beginning to cry into Kurt's shoulder.

"Shh. Shh, shh." Kurt brought his hand up, running his fingers through Blaine's curls.

"I don't know why I'm so upset." Blaine cried, pulling back. "I don't know what I'm doing."

Kurt put his hand on the small of Blaine's back, nudging him towards an empty seating area.

"Thanks." Blaine wiped his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"You're welcome." Kurt watched him carefully.

Blaine blinked rapidly, looking anywhere but at Kurt. "I know I put you in a horrible position, asking you to leave New York, and—"

"It's okay."

Blaine bit his lip hard, nodding. "If you want to stay with me at David's parents, they said you could. I don't want to cause a financial hardship."

"I'm going to stay the nights in Lima and I'll spend the days in Westerville for as long as you want me to." Kurt responded. "Don't worry about money or anything. I'm fine."

'I'm fine' Blaine knew surely meant Kurt was putting everything on a credit card. Blaine couldn't dwell too much on that fact, though. All he could think of was that Kurt was here, finally here. He felt relief very similar to when he woke up in the hospital after his wreck with Kurt there, right at his side. Everything was easier to handle with Kurt there. It always had been.

Which made the fact that they weren't together all the more painful.

"Come on." Kurt stood, gently tugging Blaine up. "Let's get out of this airport, alright? We can talk somewhere more private."

"David's mom is making dinner. Will you at least stay through that?"

"I'm not leaving until you go to bed unless you want me to leave earlier." Kurt promised.

"I can't thank you enough, Kurt." Blaine made eye contact, sniffling.

"It's nothing." Kurt didn't dare to look away. "I would have come even if you hadn't asked me to, Blaine."

Blaine bit his lip to keep it from quivering, reaching out to take Kurt's bags.

"I've got it." Kurt reassured him.

"Let me at least take one." Blaine sniffled, pulling the heaviest one off of Kurt's shoulder and carrying it. "The car is really close. Luckily this airport isn't too busy around noon in the middle of the week."

"Are you okay to drive?" Kurt asked, hand brushing against Blaine's as they walked.

"Yeah. Sorry I probably won't be very good company, though." Blaine bit his lip, coming to a halt outside of David's father's car.

"I'll let it slide this once."

Blaine smiled a bit before unlocking the doors.

…

"How are you holding up out here?"

Several hours had passed since Kurt and Blaine had made it back to David's house. The first two had been spent helping David's mother with dinner.

Kurt had to admit he was surprised by how nice David's mother was being considering how David felt about him. Both of David's parents had been very welcoming of Kurt, offering him a place to stay until he returned to New York more than once, and even asking him about school.

That wasn't important, though. What was important was that Blaine had slipped away when Kurt and David's father were discussing New York transportation.

Blaine, who was sitting on the backyard's porch swing, scooted over so Kurt could join him. "I'm fine."

"You aren't fine, Blaine. If you were, you wouldn't have asked me to come... You also wouldn't have wandered off alone."

Blaine's lip trembled and he bit it. Kurt always had been able to see through him when it came to matters involving his family.

"You don't have to talk about it but it might help." Kurt frowned before reaching out, placing his hand over Blaine's.

Blaine looked down, moving his hand so it was flat on the swing between them. He lifted his hand up, just a bit, and watched as Kurt placed his hand back over Blaine's and laced his fingers through Blaine's. Blaine stared, chest tight and stomach in knots.

"Do you want to talk?"

"There was never g-going to be anything there. I k-know that but… but now it's just… death is so final. I've never known anyone who has d-died, not r-really since my Grandpa and I was younger." Blaine wiped his eyes with the back of his free hand. "We didn't have a relationship, she treated me like shit, but it still sucks. It still sucks that I have a shitty family and that she's gone and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Shh, shh, shh." Kurt shook his head.

"She didn't care about me, Kurt, and I know that. But she should have cared. We should have had this relationship. I should have had a family that cared about me because I try so hard to be a good person, I tried so hard to make my family proud of me and it never was good enough because of something I can't change and that sucks! But now, with her, it's done. It's done, Kurt. Instead of helping them hide me in a private school or conversion camp, she should have helped me. I should have come before her 'image' and I didn't and it's not fair. It's not fair that I never had a relationship with my grandmother and now she's dead and… and it can't ever happen." Blaine's face screwed up.

Kurt said nothing, but instead squeezed Blaine's hand. Blaine didn't want him to talk, not really. Blaine needed someone to listen—someone to listen and really hear him. Someone to let him get out the stuff he was thinking, too afraid to say to most people.

"I'm so dumb, Kurt." Blaine pulled his hand back and then pulled his legs onto the porch swing, burying his face in his knees.

"You're not dumb, Blaine." Kurt whispered.

"I wish we'd had more." Blaine mumbled into his knees.

"I'm sorry you didn't. I'm so sorry you didn't have a family that cared for you the way you deserved." Kurt whispered in his ear, bending down and stroking his hair. "But you're better than them. You're a good person, Blaine. And one day, this won't matter because you'll have your own family to love and you'll be a good grandfather to your granddaughter or grandson."

"What if I don't?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Kurt said, not unkindly. "You're going to have kids and grandkids and great grandkids one day. You'll get to give your children the family you never had yourself and they'll know what it's like to have a father and a family who truly loves them. It won't erase what you're going through now but it'll still be a wrong that's been righted."

Blaine looked up and into Kurt's eyes, his own eyes puffy and red. "I mean what if I'm not better than them? What if I get a family and end up like my dad?"

"That will never happen."

"Do you think anyone plans to end up a rigid asshole?" Blaine covered his face. "I'm sorry I'm so dumb."

"Don't call yourself dumb for how you feel. The way you feel makes you human and, I'm sorry but that's something I'm not entirely convinced your family is." Kurt frowned. "Own your feelings. They make you you."

Blaine leaned over, head resting on Kurt's shoulder. "I'm terrified to go to this funeral and face my entire family."

"I'll be there with you. David and Wes will, too." Kurt fingered Blaine's long curls. "It's going to be okay. I won't let them say anything to you."

Blaine sniffled loudly and shuddered.

"It's going to be okay." Kurt repeated.

"Thank you so much for coming down here." Blaine looked up.

"You don't have to thank me." Kurt reassured him. "I want to be with you."

Blaine looked at him, expression softening. His lip then began to tremble again and he leaned down, face buried in Kurt's chest.

"I've got you." Kurt whispered, gently rocking him as he moved his foot against the ground, moving the swing back and forth slowly. "I've got you. You don't have to go through this alone."

Blaine clutched his shirt, sobbing quietly into it.

"I'm right here." Kurt repeated, glancing up at the roof of the porch and wanting nothing more than to make Blaine's pain go away. "You're not alone."

***LTC***

"Blaine fell asleep." Kurt said, making his way into Wes' living room the next evening.

"In the middle of my bed?" Wes asked, looking up from the couch.

"Yeah but if you nudge his leg with your foot, he'll move over." Kurt gave a sad sort of smile, thinking it was funny how he missed the littlest stuff the most. He'd heard the saying before but was quickly discovering how accurate it was.

Wes shrugged. "He can have it. I'll sleep in the guest room."

"I guess I better head back to Lima." Kurt bent, picking up his car keys.

"You can stay for a while. Just because Blaine's asleep doesn't mean you have to rush off." Wes pointed out, watching him.

Kurt smiled and took a seat by him. "He's glad you came up a day early."

"I'm glad my professor let me take the exam a day early." Wes responded, moving so that he was seated facing Kurt. "How are things at school? He mentioned you got an internship?"

"I actually… just got fired from that." Kurt admitted.

"Why on Earth would they fire you?" Wes' jaw dropped.

"Because they told me I couldn't get the time off to come to Ohio so I walked out." Kurt shrugged. "For however 'prestigious' the internship may have been, I kind of hated it. I didn't learn anything and everyone was hateful anyway. There was only one designer who would actually teach me stuff and he was off most of the days I worked."

"Did you tell Blaine?"

"No. You know how he'd react. He'd feel guilty and he's stressed enough already. Besides, it's worth it. I'll find another internship later but Blaine needs me now."

Wes stared at him.

"I'm not doing it to get him back or anything." Kurt added quickly. "I just really wanted to be here for him. Maybe I shouldn't be saying it out loud but I really do love him and I'm not going to stop ever."

"I still can't believe you two aren't together." Wes sighed.

"I'm trying to fix it."

"He is too, you know." Wes sighed again. "He's making an effort to talk to you and be positive. If you both keep trying, maybe it will be enough."

Kurt forced another smile. "I hope so. I miss him so much."

"Why'd you do it?" Wes asked. "I'm not mad. Okay, I'm a little mad… I really want to understand, though."

"Because I spent more days crying than not. I didn't know how to talk to him. I couldn't handle the way I felt being so far away from him, never getting to talk to him, never having our problems resolved." Kurt frowned. "I tried to fix it in the wrong way."

"Do you feel better now?"

Kurt took a deep breath, thinking. "I'm better… but I'm not happy. When I talk to Blaine, I… am. I have this routine, I'm seeing friends more and that helps but… he's missing. If we don't get back together, I'll survive. But if there's even a small chance of us getting back to how we were, then… I'd do anything."

"I can't really speak for Blaine or anything like that… but he's happier on days he talks to you too." Wes looked down. "Don't tell him I said that."

Kurt smiled a bit.

"I'm on your side. I don't know how David will act around you tomorrow… but I'm on your side. I think you and Blaine made a really good couple. You hurt him and he obviously hurt you too, but if you two can't make it as a couple there isn't really any hope for the rest of us." Wes frowned.

"I've seen David two or three times with Mercedes. Given the fact that they broke up last week, I'm pretty sure I'll get to hear his true feelings about me. Not that he isn't good at conveying them through faces…" Kurt sighed.

"Don't worry about him. He's trying to protect Blaine. When Blaine was really… depressed… David took it really hard. He stayed with David mostly and it was really… bad." Wes made eye contact. "David isn't right in the things he does or says but that's why he does them. He isn't a bad person."

Kurt didn't respond because nothing he could have said truthfully would have sounded very nice and, unlike David, he knew how to keep his opinions to himself.

"Blaine's opinion is the only one that truly matters anyway." Wes added and shrugged his shoulders. He then frowned. "He's acting weird. I'm honestly surprised he cared enough to go to the funeral. Even my parents wouldn't go to this thing if Blaine didn't want to. Everyone's only going to support him."

"I don't think he's upset about her dying. I think he's upset about what he never had." Kurt explained. "And he knows that's why everyone is going. For him."

"You should tell him about the internship one day… Maybe not now, but he should know what you did for him. It means a lot, Kurt."

"It's Blaine over an internship." Kurt laughed, shaking his head. "There's nothing to that. Even if we're not together, he still means the world to me. There's not much I wouldn't do to make him happy and nothing I wouldn't do to be there for him."

"How is Parsons?" Wes asked for the sheer fact that he didn't know what to say. Why was it that Kurt and Blaine weren't together anymore? Clearly both of them wanted to be—even if Blaine wouldn't admit it. And if Kurt wasn't going to tell Blaine about the internship, Wes sure as hell was. Kurt may have seen it as "nothing" but Wes knew it was, in fact, a very big something.

"Parsons is great. It's harder than CCAD but I knew it would be." Kurt answered. "All of my classes are going really well. I live very close to campus so I get to walk everywhere… Not very many people drive anywhere in New York, though, so that's not a big surprise."

"Are you still in classes with your one friend?"

"Alec? Yeah, I am." Kurt nodded.

"Do you two hang out a lot?"

"We were in the beginning but his fiance keeps getting sick, so a lot of the time he has to go home right after school." Kurt frowned. "It's like the fifth time he's been sick since June."

"Has he been to the doctor?"

"He is a doctor."

"I hope he hasn't caught Malaria." Wes snorted.

Kurt laughed a bit. "I don't know but Alec gave him two more days before he said he was forcibly dragging him to a hospital for testing. Which means Eric is probably just hide being sick if he's not better."

"He's a doctor. He'd probably know if it was serious." Wes pointed out.

"That's what I keep telling Alec. Besides, I saw Eric three days before I left for New York and he seemed perfectly fine." Kurt shrugged. "He's not going to let himself be dying without getting checked out."

"So you've been hanging out with your brother and old friends mostly, then?"

"As of the last few weeks, yeah." Kurt nodded and then rolled his eyes. "Finn and Rachel are getting married in a few weeks and it's horrible to be around Rachel, though. I understand; I really and truly do. But there is only so much Rachel Berry talking about one subject that the human mind can take before it snaps."

"I kind of got that vibe off her." Wes laughed.

"How is Harvard?"

"Top of my class still." Wes beamed.

"And do you still live with the person who wants that title?"

"Yep and she's not getting it." Wes said, voice firm. "If it had been up to me, I wouldn't be living with her."

"Well didn't you meet her before she moved in?"

"No. I was out. Blaine met her." Wes admitted.

"Why wouldn't you meet her first? That's your own fault."

"It was Adrian's friend. How was I to know the one girl he suggests is the one girl on campus that I can't stand?"

"That is completely your fault." Kurt repeated. "Completely."

"I'm not arguing with you." Wes laughed.

"Are Blaine and Adrian still partners in school?"

"Technically they're in the same study group." Wes explained. "But they're mock trial partners in most of their classes. The way I understand it is, they both work really well together. Blaine said there are a few group of kids who are still partners from last year too. One instructor split them up just to see how it'd play out. They're actually against each other in that class now. I'm interested to see what they're like closer to time."

Kurt laughed a bit. "It's good that Adrian is his partner in most of them. I know he really likes working with Adrian."

"Yeah. Adrian's really nice. They hang out a lot." Wes said and then quickly added, "As friends, of course. Adrian got Blaine into this show called Big Brother and it has this 'after dark' show. The season is almost over now but they'd always watch it downstairs until two in the morning, yelling together at people on the screen. And they each like someone the other hates, so that tends to end in them bickering. It's really funny to listen to people get so bent up over a show."

"Finn watched that a few years ago." Kurt nodded. "I think people either get addicted or can't stand it."

Wes nodded. "I tried to watch it with them a few times but the people on it annoyed me."

Kurt laughed, looking up when Blaine came into the room.

"We're gossiping about you, Blainers."

"Mmmh." Blaine, who was clearly half asleep, sat between them on the couch and rested his head on Wes' shoulder.

"Did we wake you up?" Kurt asked worriedly.

"Mmmmhno." Blaine yawned. "Sarah is snoring really loud."

"I'll go take her pillow." Wes stood.

"What?" Blaine asked as Kurt arched his eyebrow.

"If you take her pillow, she quits snoring. I don't question it. I'm just appreciative I know." Wes grinned and headed up the stairs.

"Feeling a bit better?" Kurt asked, watching Blaine carefully.

"I guess so." Blaine yawned once again. "I just want this whole thing over with, you know?"

"I do." Kurt reached over, purely on instinct, and pushed down some of Blaine's curls that were sticking up. "You need a haircut… badly."

"Hey, you can't nag me." Blaine teased. "You need a boyfriend title for that, sir. Besides, I know you love it."

Kurt felt a warm rush go through him. Blaine was teasing him. They'd reached the point to tease each other.

"Besides, your hair is getting longer too." Blaine pointed. "You keep styling it higher. It looks good, though."

"Well you look like you've got a poodle napping on your head." Kurt gave an impish smile.

Blaine smiled back, this one less forced than the ones Kurt had been getting since he'd arrived in Ohio.

"Alright. She's done snoring." Wes announced, coming into the back room.

Blaine scooted back a bit—when had he even scooted so close to begin with?— and looked up. "That's so mean."

"I'll put it back before I go to sleep." Wes shrugged.

Kurt stood. "I really should go home. It's getting late and I don't want Dad and Carole to worry something happened to me."

"You sure you don't want to just stay here, Kurtsie?" Wes asked. "We've got plenty of room."

"No, but thank you." Kurt smiled.

"You're coming tomorrow, right?" Blaine asked, now looking at him with a sad expression.

"Of course." Kurt nodded, his smile faltering. "As soon as I get up, I'll head here."

Blaine stood. "I'll walk you to your car."

"Okay." Kurt's smile widened again and he followed Blaine out of the house (okay, mini mansion) and to Carole's car. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Blaine put his hands in his pockets, chewing on his lip.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Kurt promised.

"Okay." Blaine forced a smile and nodded. "Bye, Kurt."

"Bye." Kurt got into the car but did not shut his door.

"Why aren't you going?"

"I'm waiting for you to be safely inside the house." Kurt started the car.

Blaine's smile grew and he gave a small nod before walking towards the house. Kurt sighed softly as the door closed behind Blaine and then backed out of the driveway. More than anything he wished they were still together, that he didn't have to leave Blaine's side through all of this.

Everything happened for a reason, though, right?

***LTC***

"Why are you even here?"

Kurt looked up. It was the night before Blaine's grandmother's funeral and, honestly, Kurt was surprised David hadn't cornered him alone earlier than he had. After all, David had been there for over four hours. Not that he'd had much of a choice in waiting, Kurt reminded himself. Blaine had been sticking very close to his side ever since he'd arrived in Ohio Wednesday night.

Kurt had been spending days with Blaine, traveling to Lima late at night to stay with his family. It would have been way too weird to stay with Blaine at David's house. They'd continued to be amazing to him and Kurt could see why Blaine was close to David's family. They were very, very nice. It kind of made him wonder how David could be such an asshole under the right circumstances.

"Because I'm pretty sure a break up means you don't associate with one another." David continued before Kurt could respond.

"He asked me to come." Kurt replied smoothly.

"Do you want to play games with his head or something? He's in a fragile state and—"

"Why would I be trying to play games with his head?" Kurt sighed, looking extremely annoyed.

"You tell me. First you break up with him, now you're trying to be his friend. What am I supposed to think?"

"Don't you have more important things to worry about than trying to start something with me?"

"Trust me. If Mercedes and I hadn't been dating, I would have come to talk to you a long time ago."

Kurt set his phone, which he'd been looking at before David had come up, in his pocket. "Well now that you broke up with her, go on and get it over with."

"How our relationship ended is none of your business."

"But mine and Blaine's relationship is yours?" Kurt asked sweetly. And, really, it was worth it to see the expression on David's face.

"When it concerns my best friend, it becomes my business."

"Right." Kurt nodded, expression serious. "Because it's not like Mercedes and I are strangers."

"We ended on amicable terms. You broke Blaine's heart. We had been having issues for a long time and working on them hadn't helped. You didn't give Blaine the chance to work on anything."

"For someone who is supposed to be so mature, who is going to school to be a doctor, you sure can act like a rich and spoiled little boy."

David scowled.

"What you're doing doesn't come off as you being overprotective. It comes off as you being uninformed and, frankly, an ass."

"I'm the ass yet I'm not the reason Blaine didn't sleep or eat for weeks. I'm not the one giving information about Blaine to his family."

Kurt jumped up. "I didn't give anyone any information about Blaine. If you think I would, that is your goddamn problem."

"They got it somehow."

Kurt stepped back, letting out a hollow laugh. "Maybe you should talk to Blaine."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean maybe you should get your facts straight. You want to make comments about the break up, fine. Not that it's any of your business, but whatever. You want to make stuff up and go at me? No."

"I can't believe Wes or I ever liked you, wanted Blaine to date you, and thought you could make him happy. And now you're here trying to act like you give two shits about him when four months ago you did more damage than his dad could ever do!"

That was beyond low, Kurt thought as he fought the urge to cry. Not in front of David. "Shut up. Just shut up. Blaine and I had problems and we both weren't working through them well. I thought what I was doing was best at the time but I made a mistake, alright?"

The door opened and Wes stepped in. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." David said.

"Are you two in here arguing? Can it not wait until after the funeral at the very least? We're here to support Blaine. Not to go at each other." Wes snapped.

"Mind your own business. Maybe you think it's nice to act friendly but I don't." David snapped right back.

"I'm not acting friendly, David. Kurt is my friend."

"Blaine is supposed to be your friend."

"The problems Blaine and I had in our relationship are ours. Until you are personally involved, don't pass judgments on me." Kurt said. "It's none of your business who caused what, who contributed what, and who is more at fault. It is mine and Blaine's business alone. Now I'm going to go and find Blaine because he asked me to come to the funeral."

"He shouldn't have had to ask." David called after him, loud enough for Kurt and Wes to hear but not loud enough for anyone outside the room to hear.

"Stay away from him if you can't play nice." Wes sighed. "By the way, your mom is starting to get mad at you over your hostility so good luck with that."

"Am I the only one that gives two shits about what Kurt did to Blaine?" David exclaimed.

"No. But you're the only one putting a break up over Blaine's feelings and that's pretty shitty." Wes frowned.

"I'm not…"

"Well it's really coming off that way. If Blaine hears you being rude to Kurt…"

"He shouldn't be here."

"Blaine wants him here. They're trying to work through stuff. Have enough respect for Blaine to not run Kurt off, alright? Kurt made him happy. That should be all you care about."

"Since when are you the expert on relationships?" David scoffed.

"It's not being an expert on relationships. It's being a good friend." Wes walked out of the room to find Blaine.

"Do you have to go?" He heard Blaine asking quietly, sounding pathetic.

"I don't have to but you should probably spend some time with your friends." Kurt responded gently.

"I want to spend time with you too." Blaine frowned when Wes came in.

"Hey, why don't we all go to my house?" Wes asked cheerfully. "My mom was making cheesecake. You like that, right, Kurt?"

Blaine looked at Kurt, eyes pleading him to agree. It was kind of heart breaking.

"Okay." Kurt nodded. Like he could really tell Blaine no.

Blaine's eyes lit up, if only a bit. Wes knew Blaine well enough to know he needed Kurt around him now. Kurt, as someone who had dated Blaine for years and someone who may have known more about Blaine's past then even he or David did, knew how to calm Blaine down. He knew how to pull Blaine out of headspace, bring him back to Earth so he didn't go back to dark places. The two had a special way of talking, Wes guessed. Whatever it was, he knew Kurt was more equipped to deal with Blaine than he (or even David) was.

"I'll go get David and see if he wants to come." Wes excused himself to return to the den where David was angrily staring at the door. "We're going to go to my house for cheesecake. Do you want to come?"

"Not particularly."

"Put it aside until after the funeral." Wes snapped. "Blaine wanted all three of us here."

"Fine." David snapped right back again, exiting the room. "Let's go."

**LTC***

"You look so handsome, Blaine."

"Thanks." Blaine mumbled to David's mother, taking a seat on the couch between David and Kurt—picking that spot mostly to put a person between them, to be entirely honest. Eating cheesecake at Wes' the night before had almost been too much tension to handle and Blaine was surprised they hadn't killed each other yet.

"It'll all be over soon, sweetie." Wes' mother, who was considerably younger than David's mother, said in a gentle voice.

"I know." Blaine responded, so quiet that David and Kurt had to strain to hear the words.

"Time to put the fun in funeral!" Wes announced coming into the room in a very nice tux.

"Wesley!" David's mother exclaimed as Wes' mother covered her face.

"What? It's going to take everything for me to not burst out singing Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead when the pastor walks up." Wes said.

"Blaine is right there." Wes' mother pointed. "Can the funeral jokes wait until next week, please?"

"I don't care." Blaine shrugged.

"If you didn't care, none of us would be going to this funeral." David pointed out.

Blaine looked down.

"Blaine, how do you want to go about this?" David's father asked as he came into the room with Wes' father. "Do you want to sit in the front?"

"No. As far back as we can get." Blaine responded.

"If anyone tries to talk to you, do you want us to intervene?"

"If Mom, Dad, or my uncles approach I want to leave." Blaine said.

"Anytime you want to leave, tell us. We'll stay as short or as long as you're comfortable with." Wes' mom said.

"Alright." Blaine nodded and stood.

"I figured the kids can go in one car and we can follow." David's mom said. "If that's okay with you, sweetie?"

Blaine shrugged. "That's fine."

"If we get separated from you boys, I don't want Blaine alone." David's father said once Blaine had left the house with Wes' parents. "I don't care if Blaine tells you he's okay to talk to someone alone. Unless it's his brother, someone needs to be with him. I don't know that his dad would try to pull anything but we're not taking any chances."

"Don't worry about that." David glowered. "He better not try to say anything to Blaine because I'll let him know exactly where he can—." He trailed off when Blaine came back into the house.

"Who is going to drive?" Blaine asked.

"Me, me, me!" Wes exclaimed, rushing to grab car keys. "I want to drive the new Lexus!"

"Wes, if you wreck my car, there will be more than one funeral everyone in this room will be attending!" Wes' dad called from the front porch.

"Ruin my fun." Wes muttered before grinning at Kurt. "Want to see how fast a Lexus that's more awesome than mine can go?"

"No." David, Blaine, and Kurt said together.

"Oh, fine, you party poopers."

…

"Are you sure about this, Blaine?" David asked anxiously when Wes had shut his father's car off.

"Not really but if I'd rather go and regret it than not go and regret it." Blaine mumbled, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Just don't leave me alone."

"We weren't planning on it." Kurt said, making eye contact.

"They're already talking." Blaine frowned, looking at two couples who were looking into the car with disgusted looks clearly aimed at him and Kurt.

"Are you sure about this?" David repeated.

"Yes." Blaine pushed the car door open and got out, face composed.

David and Wes' parents walked up.

"I was beginning to think you boys had forgotten how to get to church." David's mother said.

"Most of the people inside are family. It's mostly church people out here." Wes said, coming up behind Kurt. "So if people come up and talk to Blaine now, don't worry."

"Do you really think his family will try to talk to him?" Kurt asked.

"The people who come up and talk to him will be the ones you least want to do so." David answered, joining them as well. "Because they'll want to look like they aren't the scum of the Earth."

Kurt watched as three elderly women came up, hugging Blaine. He bit back a smile as one even pinched his cheek. Clearly Blaine was missed from church.

"His dad." David said, glancing towards the end of the parking lot. He glanced at Blaine, who was right with their fathers. "He wouldn't dare do it in front of them."

"No. He'll wait until he's alone with us." Wes agreed.

The small crowd of people saying hello to Blaine made their way into the church and he scooted until he was back with Kurt, Wes, and David. He then took a deep breath. "I don't want to go inside yet."

"Blaine!"

Blaine turned as tiny arms wrapped around his legs. For a brief second he thought maybe it had been Melody—why would he have thought that, though? Wishing thinking, maybe? As pathetic as it may have been to admit, he would have felt more at ease with Burt and Carole also at his side.

He looked down, smiling when he saw a head of black curls. It was nice to give a smile he didn't have to force. "Hey!"

"Danny!" Alex groaned, coming up behind Blaine. "Hey, Blaine."

"Hey." Blaine said, pulling Danny up and then attempting to pass him over to Alex.

"I'll stay with you!" Danny chirped. "You should carry me!"

Alex rolled his eyes. "He's been very excited to see you. It's all he's talked about on the fli—ght." He smiled when his wife caught up.

"You promised to not leave me alone with anyone." She said, although she was clearly teasing.

"Hey, Mia." Blaine smiled brightly.

"Hey, Kurt." Alex smiled. "Hey, David and Wes… everyone."

"He is so cute." David's mom cooed, coming up and waving at Danny. "He's got your eyes, Alex."

"He's got Alex's attitude too." Mia sighed, shaking her head. "And stubbornness."

"It runs in the family." Danny chirped, beaming. He wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck. "I have another uncle but you're my favorite. You send better presents."

"That he gets from my grandmother." Alex said, earning a smack to his arm from Mia. "What? You know it's the truth. You can't hit someone near a church. That's punishable by death here, Amelia."

"I'm not an idiot." Mia shook her head again. "I had a Civics class… and I actually paid attention in school unlike you."

"You've got your hands full." Wes' mom laughed.

"Only when he's not at work."

David's mom snorted loudly.

"I heard that." Alex scoffed. "Play nice and I won't leave you alone in America."

"Daddy is reading with me, Blaine. We're reading Harry Potter." Danny grinned excitedly. "He says you liked Harry Potter when you were my age and that it was your favoritest."

"It's still one of my favorites." Blaine said, stepping out of somebody's way.

"What other books do you like?"

"Hmm, I like a lot of books. Frankenstein—."

Danny giggled. "That sounds scary!"

"You should read Goosebumps."

Alex shuddered. "No way. The kid is weird enough already."

Danny waved at Kurt. "Hi, Kurt! Are you and Blaine still boyfriends?"

"Danny, shh." Mia said. "Use your inside voice."

"Don't wanna." Danny motioned for Blaine to put him down and ran to Kurt. "Can I tell you a secret?"

Kurt bent down. "What?"

"Daddy likes you." Danny giggled.

Kurt smiled and ruffled Danny's curls.

"How are you holding up?" Alex asked Blaine, looking concerned.

"I'm fine." Blaine shrugged.

Alex turned to Kurt. "How is he holding up?"

"He's doing okay… He'll be okay." Kurt answered.

"Do you care if we sit with you all?" Alex asked as an old man sent him a dirty look. In response Alex gave a wide grin and said loudly, "Nice to see you too, Uncle Charlie."

Mia gently hit his back and shook her head before bending down and kissing Danny's cheek. Kurt was pretty sure she called Alex a smart ass, too, and he resisted the urge to laugh.

"Sure." Blaine nodded. "What was that about?"

"We'll talk about it later." Alex said.

"I guess we should head in." Blaine frowned.

"Do I have to use my inside voice now?" Danny asked in a loud whisper when everyone was seated together.

"Yes." Mia said at the same time Alex said, "No."

"Alex, honestly." Mia shook her head. "Don't be in a bad mood."

"Oh, I'm in a great mood." Alex said as their father passed. "Never better actually."

Mia shook her head again and straightened Danny's tie.

"Kurt, can I sit on your lap?" Danny asked.

"If your mommy and daddy don't care, sure." Kurt smiled.

"Yay!" Danny clapped and ran a few feet down, hopping onto Kurt's lap. Clearly he had practice jumping on people's laps.

"Alright. Quiet voice now." Alex whispered to Danny, putting his finger to his lips. "Don't make a peep and Daddy will buy you ice cream when we leave."

Danny clamped his mouth shut and sat completely still, his little fist tightly holding some of Kurt's dress shirt.

Blaine took a deep breath as everyone else began to sit down. Wes, who was sitting directly in front of him, turned around and made a heart with his hands. David then reached back, squeezing his shoulder before turning his attention to the front of the church.

Blaine bit back a smile because, really, he had the greatest friends in the whole wide world. Nobody could tell him any differently.

"You okay?" Kurt leaned over, whispering in his ear.

"I think so." Blaine nodded, reaching over and lacing his fingers with Kurt's. He looked straight ahead, afraid to meet Kurt's eyes and not even really knowing why he'd done it. Maybe he was so used to touching Kurt when they sat so close. Maybe he just needed to feel Kurt there.

And it helped.

It really and truly did.

***LTC***

"Oh my goodness! Blaine!" Carole rushed forward, wrapping her arms around Blaine the next afternoon. "Kurt, I didn't know you were bringing him back with you!"

"I thought he might like to see you, Dad, and Melody." Kurt responded.

"Honey, I am so sorry about your grandmother. How are you holding up?" Carole pulled back to look at Blaine.

"I'm not going to lie. It really sucks." Blaine said, making eye contact with her. "But I'll be fine."

"You must have lost ten pounds… and you've grown at least an inch since I last saw you… and your hair has gotten so long." Carole took in his appearance.

"I've been running a lot more. Stress relief." Blaine explained. "And I eat healthier…" He paused and then added, "Well, somewhat."

Carole laughed a bit before hugging Kurt. "Are you boys hungry? If I'd known you both would be here I would have made food. I wasn't expecting you until dinner, Kurt."

"I'll make lunch." Kurt stepped into the kitchen, giving them some privacy. After all, he'd spent the last three days with Blaine. Carole had not seen him since April and it was August. They wouldn't have all night to talk and Kurt wanted to make sure they made the most of their time.

He was surprised when, a few seconds later, Blaine and Carole came in after him. His heart made a little jump when he saw Blaine come in first. When they were at David or Wes' houses, he'd figured Blaine had kept up with him because Kurt was in an unfamiliar area. In his own house, though?

Maybe Blaine really wanted to be close to Kurt, even if they weren't talking that moment.

For some reason, it made him want to cry. Maybe things weren't as messed up as they thought. Maybe they stood a real chance.

Carole squeezed Kurt's shoulder and gave him a smile. Kurt smiled back and returned to making them some sandwiches.

"Are you going to be behind in school?" Carole asked Blaine.

"A bit, yes. But I'm going to take some extra time off from the internship and try to catch up… and my friend Adrian is in nearly all of my classes, so he's going to help me understand the harder stuff. My professors all promised my grades would be okay as long as I am back up to speed by the Monday after next."

"Good, so you have a whole week to get caught up." Carole smiled.

"Yeah."

Kurt felt eyes on him and glanced back to see Blaine quickly looking away.

"I feel kind of bad Kurt had to bail on his internship and school." He heard Blaine say.

"Don't be ridiculous." Kurt finished the first sandwich, put Blaine's favorite chips on the plate, and handed it over.

"He got a really good internship." Carole said excitedly. "Did he tell you?"

"I didn't know it was a really good one." Blaine looked at Kurt. "Congratulations."

"He got one of only a few spots. It's very competitive." Carole beamed. "We're so proud of him."

"It's not that big of a deal. They're jerks anyway." Kurt finished Carole's plate and handed it over.

"You know, he refuses to acknowledge what he's doing." Carole shook her head. "He gets that from Burt."

"Some of the people at my internship were jerks to me for weeks." Blaine said, making eye contact. "It'll probably settle down soon. They try to weed out the weak."

Well, guess I got weeded out.

Kurt smiled. "Yeah, maybe."

Blaine tilted his head a little bit, still not looking away. Could he tell what had happened?

Kurt finally turned to make his own sandwich and then took a spot at the table.

"Do you feel better now that it's over?"

"What?" Blaine asked sharply.

"The funeral." Kurt said.

"Oh." Blaine looked embarrassed. "I guess a bit. I think once I'm back in Cambridge and have to focus on real life, I'll feel better..."

"You're right." Carole nodded. "Once you get back into your routine, things will go back to normal."

"I hope so." Blaine ate one of his chips.

"I forgot drinks." Kurt quickly stood, rushing towards the fridge.

Blaine got up as well, going to help him.

"I'm sorry."

"It's just a drink." Blaine offered a forced half smile as Kurt held a glass out to him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Kurt poured two more glasses, one for Carole and one for himself, before going back to the table.

"Kurt, you're back early. Did—" Burt trailed off, eyes widening in surprise when he saw Blaine at the table.

"Hey, Burt." Blaine said, getting up and going to hug him.

"BLAINE, BLAINE, BLAINE!" Melody ran in, throwing her arms and legs around Blaine's leg before he could reach Burt.

"Hey, Mellie!" Blaine tried to put on a normal, excited voice. "Let me hug you!"

She hopped off his leg, squealing as Blaine scooped her up.

"I've missed you thiiiiiiiiiiiis much!" Melody held her arms apart as far as she could, nearly punching Blaine in the nose in the process.

"If I showed you how much I missed you, you'd probably fall." Blaine stuck out his lower lip in a pout.

Melody threw his arms around his neck, squeezing Blaine tightly.

"I've missed you so much, pumpkin." Blaine mumbled in her ear, squeezing right back. It was the truth, too. He missed not seeing her as much, hated how tall she was now because she'd grown so much since April and it was heartbreaking that he didn't know when he'd see her again if at all.

"Why don't you come and see me, Mommy, and Daddy anymore?" Melody pouted, looking down.

"I've been very busy at law school."

"But Kurt is busy at school and he still comes more than you do."

Blaine looked at her, swallowing a sudden lump in his throat.

"Blaine's school is farther away than mine, sweetie." Kurt said.

"That's not true."

"Melody…" Burt began.

"Finn and Kurt see me lots and you doesn't."

"Mellie…" Blaine said.

Melody burst into tears, burying her face in his shoulder.

Blaine looked at Kurt, an unreadable expression on his face. He had made Melody cry. Why didn't he make more time to talk to her on the phone? Why hadn't be given her the present in person? It had been summer. He could have saved up for gas money or a plane ticket.

"I'm sorry for making you maaaaaaaaaad."

"Pumpkin, I'm not mad." Blaine promised, swallowing another lump in his throat. "I'm not. I promise. I've been so busy. I'm really sorry I haven't seen you."

"You weren't at my softball game and they were."

"Melody…"

"It's not fair!" Melody wiggled until he put her down and then ran to Carole, crying into her leg.

Blaine went over and bent down by her. "I'm sorry I've not been a good friend lately."

Melody didn't respond.

"Sometimes I let people down on accident." Blaine glanced at Kurt, who was watching intently with a sad expression. "But I don't mean to and I always try to make it right."

Melody pulled back to face him slowly, hand tightly grasping Carole's hand that wasn't running through her hair. "Big brothers have to be nice to their little sisters. Daddy says so."

Tears filled Blaine's eyes and he hugged her tightly. "Y-You're right. So I'll have to work on it, won't I?"

Melody nodded, sniffling loudly before hugging him again.

"Do you forgive me?"

"Uh-huh." Melody sniffled into his neck and then nuzzled his shoulder.

"That's good because I don't want my Mellie mad at me." Blaine kissed her forehead.

"Daddy, can Blaine read me my bedtime story tonight?" Melody asked, her voice cheerful as ever.

"If he's still here, he can." Burt promised.

Melody hopped down and ran off, calling behind her as she went, "I'm gonna go and get my new toys so I can show Blaine!"

"I need to call her more." Blaine frowned. "I didn't know she… I…"

"She sees you as her big brother, just like Finn and Kurt." Carole patted Blaine's arm. "Still. She talks about you just as much as she talks about them."

"How are ya doin', Blaine?" Burt asked, coming up and extending his arms for a hug.

"I've been better but I've also been worse." Blaine admitted, hugging him back. "Kurt's helped a lot these past few days."

Kurt smiled sadly when Carole squeezed his arm.

"How are you boys doing? Talking a lot?" Burt asked.

"Burt…" Carole started.

"Right. I shouldn't ask. I'm just glad you two are talking again. Working things out and all."

"Dad, please." Kurt kept his voice soft but there was a definite edge to it.

"I'm glad we're talking again too." Blaine told Burt, giving a smile.

"So I'm going to be in the area in a few weeks' time. Would you want to meet me for lunch?" Burt asked.

"You're going to be in Cambridge?" Blaine raised his eyebrow.

"I'm going to be in Northern New York for a convention."

Northern New York was nowhere near Cambridge, meaning Burt wanted to drive all that way to visit Blaine for lunch. His smile grew, but at the same time it kind of broke his heart a little bit. He missed this, being around everybody, being with Kurt, having a family.

"Definitely if you want to, yeah." Blaine said eagerly. "I can ask off at my internship and show you around. It's a pretty cool city… Not that I get to see too much of it when it isn't summer or a vacation."

"I don't want to take too much of your time." Burt said quickly.

"No, it's fine." Blaine shrugged. "And if I can't have off, Adrian can probably work my shift. It really wouldn't be a problem."

"Great." Burt grinned. "How's school going?"

"It's early on but it's fine. I still have my partner from last year in all of my classes but one which I'm definitely not complaining about. So, it's not been too much of a change. The classes are more in depth, though. It requires more studying and readying. I meet with my study group two more hours a week than I used to, and we used to meet for group a lot."

"How on Earth do you find time to sleep?" Carole asked.

"I don't really." Blaine gave a small laugh. "Not much, at least. Wes and I kind of trade off waking each other up before classes otherwise we'd either get no sleep or sleep through classes. I usually get to sleep around four in the morning and my first class three days a week is at eight… I nap between classes a lot."

"Do the other students get sleep regularly?"

"Well Adrian has been known to sleep in his back seat on long breaks, and this one girl naps in the library all the time, so I don't think I'm alone in my suffering." Blaine laughed.

"Kid, I gotta head back to work. Will you still be here when I get off?" Burt asked, clapping Blaine's shoulder.

Blaine looked to Kurt.

"I'll take you back when you want to go back." Kurt said. "It's up to you."

"Yeah, I think I'll be here… unless something comes up."

Burt grinned. "Alright well, I'll see you boys in a few hours. Carole, don't forget to give Blaine the wedding information. We're still expecting you there, kid."

"O-Oh, okay." Blaine nodded. "Alright. See you soon."

Burt pulled him into another hug, grinning from ear to ear. "It's real good to see you, Blaine."

"You too, Burt." Blaine smiled. "Thanks."

Burt walked out the door, calling a goodbye to Melody.

"I think you made his day." Carole laughed.

"It's really good to be back here." Blaine said somewhat lamely, blushing the tiniest bit.

"It's glad to have you here." Carole smiled. "I'm going to go and get the information for the wedding for you while it's on my mind… But if you can't make it, it's fine. I think everyone would love to see you, though."

Blaine nodded.

Carole rushed up the stairs.

"Sorry about Dad. He might be reading too much into us talking again." Kurt apologized, stepping up.

"Don't apologize… It is good that we're working things out." Blaine took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Blaine nodded, taking a seat on the couch.

Kurt sat next to him, hesitantly lacing their fingers together. "It's going to be okay, Blaine."

"What will? My emotional state… us?"

"Everything." Kurt promised.

Blaine leaned closer, head resting on Kurt's shoulder. "I hope so, Kurt."

Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand and scooted a little closer. As long as Blaine wasn't pulling away, Kurt wasn't going to either.

…

"That wasn't a long enough story!" Melody, who was nestled between Kurt and Blaine in her big girl bed later the same night, crossed her arms over her chest.

"We've read three stories." Kurt retorted, giving Blaine a look. "Your bedtime was almost an hour ago."

"Big brothers have to be nice to little sisters." Melody gave a sweet smile and blinked her eyes in Blaine's direction. "Read another one?"

"I think that one's up to Kurt." Blaine laughed. "You'll have to talk to him."

"Please, Kurt, pleeeeease!" Melody turned to face Kurt. "Pleeeeease."

"I don't know. We've got a long drive. I have to take Blaine to Westerville."

Melody's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "Why?"

"Because he's staying with his friends."

"But, Kurt, he lives here." Melody looked back and forth between the two of them, clearly confused. "If you wanna be a bed hog, he can sleep with me."

Blaine snorted loudly.

"Any time I sleep with him, he tries to snuggle but sometimes enough is enough!" Melody chirped and shook her head dramatically.

"You're awful picky for someone who forces her way into my bed in the middle of the night every night I'm here."

Melody giggled and nuzzled his arm. "I love you, Kuuuuurt."

"Love you too, Booger." Kurt ruffled her hair and then moved to stand.

"NO NO NO NO NO!" Melody shrieked.

"What?" Kurt asked.

"You have to stay with me 'til I fall asleep like Daddy." Melody explained, looking at him as though he were insane.

"Do you want me to at least turn off the light?" Kurt asked.

"Yes but turn on the pretty lamp from Auntie Paige." Melody clapped her hands excitedly, cuddling up to Blaine.

"So you can cuddle him but not me? I see how it is." Kurt scoffed teasingly.

"I can't please everybody, Kurt." Melody said, both looking and sounding exactly like Carole had looked so many times saying the same thing to Burt.

Blaine covered his face, entire body shaking with his silent laughter.

"Blaaaine, you can't move. You aren't a wiggle worm." Melody glared. "You boys are silly."

Kurt turned on the lamp and climbed back into bed on Melody's other side. "Alight. Everybody has to lay very still so we can go to sleep."

Melody whined a bit but rested her head against Kurt's chest.

Kurt bit his lip, fingers absent-mindedly running through Melody's still-damp hair. They were silent for nearly five minutes before Melody spoke.

"Finn and Rachel are getting married, Kurt. When are you getting married?" She asked sleepily.

"I don't know." Kurt responded, tickling her side. "But you're supposed to be going to bed."

"Can I be the flower girl when you two get married?" Melody sat up, looking between them both.

"I wouldn't have any other flower girl." Kurt promised after several moments of silence. What was he supposed to say? That, at least in that point in time, they probably wouldn't get married? How would he explain what broken up even meant to a little child who had only ever known Kurt and Blaine as KurtandBlaine?

Melody smiled happily and laid back down, this time flat on her back with her head rested on her pillow. "Night, boys."

"Good night, pumpkin." Blaine whispered.

Kurt lay very still for nearly ten minutes until Melody finally let out a quiet snore. He then sat very slowly, looking at Blaine. He was staring at the ceiling, a faraway expression on his face.

"You ready to go?" Kurt whispered.

"I keep thinking about how we wanted to have two girls and this could have been us seven years from now, but…" Blaine trailed off.

"It could still be us." Kurt whispered, looking him in the eyes. "We could still have everything one day, if you want it."

"It's not that easy, Kurt." Blaine sighed.

"I never said it would be easy. There's still so much left to work through but as long as we're both alive, we'll always have that possibility." Kurt kept his voice low, trying his hardest to not wake his sleeping sister. "I'm not afraid to work hard to fix us and I'm not in a rush."

Blaine nodded, not breaking eye contact. "We should talk more."

"Okay." Kurt nodded, smiling a bit. "We'll talk more."

"I guess I'm ready to head back if you are." Blaine sat up slowly.

"Alright." Kurt stood, tucking Melody's blanket around her and resting her favorite bear next to her on the bed.

"I'll be right down." Blaine stood.

"Okay." Kurt nodded and exited the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He then leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath. For the first time in a really long time, he felt like they stood a real chance at fixing things.

Like maybe they'd make it.

***LTC***

Early the next day, Blaine dropped his bags onto the floor and looked around. He and Wes were standing in one of the waiting areas of the Cincinnati airport, waiting for Kurt who they knew would also be flying out that same day.

"I hope he makes it before we have to get on the plane." Blaine mumbled, sitting down.

"He will." Wes sat by him and then gestured. "See?"

Blaine looked to his left, standing when Kurt approached them.

"Good morning." Kurt smiled at him.

"Hey." Blaine smiled back.

"You look like you feel better today." Kurt noted before turning to Wes. "Hey."

"Hey, Kurtsie. It was good to see you, alright?" Wes squeezed Kurt's arm. "Come and see us in Cambridge."

"I will." Kurt promised, smiling. "Have a safe flight, Wes."

"See you in a bit, Blainers." Wes grabbed his bag and moved towards the terminal.

"I want to thank you for putting your life on hold for five days and coming to Ohio for me… You can't understand how much that means to be." Blaine looked Kurt in the eyes.

"You're welcome."

Blaine smiled again. "I really… do, though. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Blaine." Kurt placed his own bag on the floor.

"Were you able to get your homework done last night?" Blaine asked. "I know you got back to Lima pretty late. Sorry."

"I got a lot of it done. I'm not too worried." Kurt shrugged. "I'm just worried about you."

"I feel good." Blaine promised. "I think Carole was right. The funeral's over so now I can… not think about my family. It was a bit silly to get so upset anyway."

"Not silly. Don't invalidate your feelings." Kurt shook his head. "You weren't sad about her dying. You were sad about what you didn't have. That isn't silly."

Blaine moved forward, hugging Kurt.

Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine, squeezing tight. "When can we meet again?"

"I'll be busy until the wedding. I have to get caught up, make up internship hours, and stuff." Blaine murmured into Kurt's shoulder.

"Labor Day weekend is okay." Kurt nodded.

"Not too far away." Blaine pulled back.

"Stay in touch… Especially over the next few days so I know you're alright."

"I'm fine, Kurt." Blaine promised.

"Our definitions of fine are two very different things, Blaine." Kurt pointed out.

"Kurt, I think we should talk more about… stuff. I know there isn't a lot of time now but… but this means a lot to me and I just want you to know that I… I'm glad you're in my life again because it's a better place when you're here."

Kurt's eyes began to water and he blinked a few times before pulling Blaine into another hug. "You don't know how much that means to me."

"But I do. I do." Blaine hugged him back again. "Every time I see you, I'm terrified it might be the last."

"It won't." Kurt promised, pulling back to look at him. "We've got the wedding, remember?"

Blaine nodded. "I wish I had more time to talk to you."

Kurt hesitantly reached up, pushing some of Blaine's hair back. "Get on Skype after nine tonight. We'll talk then."

Blaine nodded again. "I should go."

"I should too." Kurt whispered, taking a step back.

Blaine grabbed his hand, squeezing it once before letting it go. "Bye."

"Bye, Blaine." Kurt looked into his eyes, telling himself over and over, Don't say I love you. Don't say I love you.

Blaine swallowed. "I'll miss you."'

"I'll miss you too, Blaine. Thank you for letting me come to the funeral with you."

Blaine threw his arms around Kurt, wanting nothing more than to miss his flight and spend the rest of every waking moment with Kurt. Kurt had thanked him for letting him go to the funeral? That resonated with Blaine for a reason he didn't understand. Was it the fact that Kurt had made the experience more bearable and, therefore, didn't need to thank Blaine for letting him attend? Really, Blaine didn't want to put much thought into it right then. He didn't want too much thought into anything actually.

"You have to go. You're going to miss your flight." Kurt whispered, kissing the side of his face.

"I don't want to. I really don't want to."

"Nine. We'll talk at nine. I promise." Kurt made no move to back up—not that he could while in Blaine's death grip. "We'll talk at nine."

Blaine lowered his arms and grabbed his bag, nodding. "Leaving you right now is harder than going to that funeral."

"I love you." Kurt whispered.

"I love you too." Tears filled Blaine's eyes. "So much, Kurt."

"It's going to be okay." Kurt kissed his cheek again.

What was going to be okay? Their relationship? Waiting to talk until nine? Adjusting to life knowing one more member of his family was dead? The flight? Blaine?

"Go. You have to get on the plane. You've got to get back to school and work." Kurt urged, nudging Blaine back a step. "Go."

"Don't say bye." Blaine turned away from Kurt.

"À bientôt." Kurt called after him.

Blaine turned back. "What does that mean?"

"I'll text you the words. Hopefully you can translate it yourself." Kurt smiled sweetly.

Blaine shook his head and then walked through the gate, fighting a smile. He heard his phone ding just as he was sitting next to Wes.

"That was longer than I thought it would be." Wes noted, looking up for one of his textbooks.

"Yeah." Blaine pulled out his phone, copying the text and immediately pulling up a translator.

"What are you doing?" Wes raised his eyebrow, looking down at Blaine's phone. "'See you later'?"

"Nothing." Blaine smiled, tapping out a ':)' and sending it to Kurt.

Because it wasn't goodbye. Not really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a advanced warning and SPOILER ALERT, in the latter part of Chapter 17 there will be a TRIGGER WARNING posted for rape/date rape/attempted date rape. Anything in that vicinity. If you do not feel comfortable reading that, please only read the first part of 17 and then just start up again at 18. I will post a trigger warning between the first and second part of the chapters so that you can read the first part.
> 
> Any mention of what occurs in the latter part of 17 will have a spoiler alert/trigger warning as well but anything past that will only be discussion. I am posting this so far in advance because I don't want anybody to be taken by surprise. 
> 
> Sorry for posting a spoiler but... trigger warnings are important. I would rather spoil something than trigger somebody.


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